Cassius Marsh is returning to the NFC West. ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the defensive end has been claimed on waivers by the 49ers. Marsh was waived by the Patriots earlier this week.
The 25-year-old was acquired by New England from the Seahawks in September in exchange for a fifth- and seventh-round pick. Marsh went on to play in nine games for the Patriots (one start), compiling 19 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. The defensive end seemingly fell out of the rotation, as he only logged a pair of snaps during the team’s win over the Raiders last weekend. However, Marsh had showed some potential in 2016 with Seattle, compiling three sacks.
The 49ers are struggling with injuries on their defensive line, as they were without Aaron Lynch and Solomon Thomas at defensive end last weekend (along with Arik Armstead and Tank Carradine, who are both on the injured reserve). Marsh will presumably slide right into the team’s lineup, joining Elvis Dumervil and Ronald Blair as the team’s healthy defensive ends. Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets that the 49ers have an empty roster spot, so they won’t have to make a corresponding move.