The 49ers have not yet brought in D.J. Humphries, despite spring reports to the contrary, but they will also take another tackle out of the equation ahead of minicamp. San Francisco waived recent addition Nicholas Petit-Frere on Tuesday.
A three-year Titans starter, Petit-Frere has now been cut by two teams this offseason. No one claimed the former third-round pick on waivers after his Tennessee exit, and without sufficient service time to pass straight to free agency, the young right tackle will head back to the wire.
San Francisco also placed wide receiver Trent Taylor on IR. Although teams now regularly activate players from IR, a placement on the injured list now will end Taylor’s season. Barring an injury settlement and subsequent return, Taylor is out of the picture for the 49ers in 2025. In a corresponding move, the team signed wide receiver Malik Knowles. Taylor suffered a back injury, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows.
When the 49ers added Petit-Frere post-draft, they also signed one-year Titans left tackle Andre Dillard, who spent last season with the Packers. Dillard joins Spencer Burford as swing tackle options for the Niners. The team had shifted Burford from guard to tackle, giving the former inside starter reps behind the likes of Trent Williams, Colton McKivitz and the since-departed Jaylon Moore. Petit-Frere, 25, will look for another landing spot.
Petit-Frere beat out Dillon Radunz for the Titans’ RT job as a rookie in 2022, but his chances of stopping a revolving door at the position worsened in 2023 after a gambling suspension preceded a season-ending injury. The Ohio State product returned from injury to start 10 games last season, but he had arrived before respected O-line coach Bill Callahan. The elder of the two Callahans in key Titans positions now has 2024 first-round pick JC Latham at RT, after the Titans signed Dan Moore Jr. to man the blind side.
Taylor, 31, rejoined the 49ers in April 2024 and toggled between the practice squad and active roster last year. Though, the veteran receiver/return man played in just two games. The 49ers gave him a reserve/futures contract in January. Taylor spent four seasons in San Francisco to start his career, arriving during the Kyle Shanahan–John Lynch regime’s first offseason in charge. The former fifth-round pick served as a slot player and 49ers punt returner in that span, missing all of the 2019 Super Bowl LIV season due to injury. Taylor resurfaced in 2020 before moving to the Bengals (2021-22) and Bears (2023).
Whenever there’s a way to subtract from an already abysmal offensive line, Lynch and Shanahan exploit it. Pathetic. Should have two rings.
Reports were that he was horrible in otas. So sure, keep him to make the line better? Subtraction? They subtracted a body that equaled zero. When you subtract zero, what do you get? I’ve said this before Geoff, the only tackles available are backups. After first round only backups are available. And no one, NO ONE, wants to trade starting quality tackles. They don’t:fall off trees”. Btw, please explain how they are “exploiting” the line. Weird choice.