49ers Signing P Corliss Waitman
It appears the 49ers will not be returning their entire special teams battery. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that former Steelers punter Corliss Waitman will sign to be the new punter in San Francisco in 2026. 
Thomas Morstead operated as the team’s punter this past season. The 17-year-veteran remains unsigned, and today’s news certainly suggests he will need to look elsewhere for a new opportunity if his NFL career is to continue. Waitman is coming off a pair of campaigns with the Steelers.
An injury one game into the 2024 season left Cameron Johnston unavailable for Pittsburgh. Waitman stepped in for the rest of the year and remained the Steelers’ punter in 2025. During his second straight Pittsburgh campaign, Waitman outperformed Morstead in a number of key categories (h/t ESPN’s Nick Wagoner). The 49ers will hope the younger of the two will serve as an upgrade in 2026.
Johnston agreed to terms with the Steelers earlier this week, leaving Waitman’s future in doubt. The 30-year-old has quickly pivoted, and the 49ers will be his next NFL team. Waitman has seen time in five different organizations to date, but his only game action has come with Pittsburgh (across two separate stints) and Denver (2022). In all, he has made 52 appearances during the regular season.
Long snapper Jon Weeks signed a new San Francisco deal in February, ensuring his Bay Area stint will continue in 2026. The same is also true for kicker Eddy Pineiro, who re-signed with the 49ers one week ago. The presence of those two will give the team plenty of third phase stability. However, Morstead has confirmed he will not be returning next year. It will be Waitman looking to offer an upgrade at the punter position and in doing so earn himself an extended look with the 49ers.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
49ers To Re-Sign LB Luke Gifford
Luke Gifford will remain in San Francisco next season. The veteran linebacker and special teams ace has agreed to a new 49ers deal, Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report. 
This is a two-year deal worth $5.3MM, per the report. Gifford’s most recent San Francisco pact was for one year and $1.8MM. His strong showing in 2025 has landed him a notable raise.
Gifford played out his rookie contract with the Titans and he spent 2023 and ’24 as a member of the Titans. During that span, the 30-year-old played sparingly on defense but was a special teams mainstay. In his debut 49ers campaign, Gifford earned a Pro Bowl nod for his strong third phase work. He will no doubt be expected to remain a high-end contributor in that regard moving forward.
Due to the 49ers’ injury situation at the linebacker spot, however, Gifford wound up making nine starts in 2025. The Nebraska product handled 172 defensive snaps, the second-highest total of his career. He made 35 tackles, second only to his total from the year before in Tennessee. A full-time gig should not be expected in this case, but Gifford will offer San Francisco with a familiar backup option on defense if needed.
The 49ers have been busy with respect to defensive additions in recent days. That includes a reunion with Dre Greenlaw. He and Fred Warner will be counted on to handle a heavy workload, with the likes of Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune also in the fold as well. Gifford will give the team veteran depth at the second level.
San Francisco entered Friday with roughly $27MM in cap space. As a result, this deal will not make a major impact on the team’s other roster-building moves leading up to the draft.
49ers To Bring Back LB Dre Greenlaw
The 49ers are reuniting with linebacker Dre Greenlaw, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Greenlaw will return to San Francisco on a one-year, $7.5MM deal.
The Broncos released Greenlaw on Tuesday, ending his stay in Denver after one season, but it did not take the 28-year-old long to land on his feet. Greenlaw, a fifth-round pick in 2019, spent the first six seasons of his career in San Francisco. The Broncos scooped up Greenlaw on a three-year, $35MM pact last March, but the move did not pan out as hoped.
[RELATED: 49ers To Sign CB Nate Hobbs]
While the Broncos boasted the NFL’s third-ranked scoring defense in 2025, they only received limited contributions from the oft-injured Greenlaw. The 6-foot, 230-pounder began the season on IR with a quad injury and did not debut until Week 7. He also missed the Broncos’ last two games as a result of a hamstring issue. Greenlaw ended the year with 43 tackles, an interception, a sack and a forced fumble over eight games (seven starts). Designating him a post-June 1 release saved the Broncos $8.19MM on next season’s cap.
Greenlaw has not played a full season since his rookie campaign, which ended with a loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. Injuries have held him out of 45 regular-season games since then. He played just three games in 2021 and two in 2024. Greenlaw’s 15-game absence in ’24 came as a result of a torn Achilles he suffered while trotting onto the field for the first half of a Super Bowl LVIII rematch with the Chiefs. The rehab process prevented him from returning until mid-December. He made two appearances before the 49ers shut him down for the year.
When healthy, Greenlaw has been among the league’s top linebackers at times. During his most productive two-year stretch, 2022-23, he combined for 247 tackles across 30 games. Pro Football Focus ranked Greenlaw as the league’s seventh-best linebacker in 2022. Even in his abbreviated Broncos season, PFF rated Greenlaw’s performance an outstanding 16th among 88 qualifiers at his position.
In his return to San Francisco, Greenlaw will work under new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. He will also reunite with superstar linebacker Fred Warner, who is coming off an injury-shortened year of his own. The four-time first-team All-Pro dislocated and broke his ankle in Week 6, ending his season in October. The 49ers will bank on healthier seasons from Greenlaw and Warner in 2026, but their linebacker group is deep beyond that duo. Dee Winters, Tatum Bethune and 2025 third-rounder Nick Martin are also under contract.
Mike Evans Considered Signing With Bills
A dozen years into a potential Hall of Fame career, wide receiver Mike Evans left the Buccaneers for the 49ers on Monday. Discussing the decision on Thursday, Evans told reporters he entered free agency seeking a contender with a good quarterback (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports California). He found that in San Francisco, which reeled him in with a three-year offer worth a base value of $42.4MM.
The 32-year-old Evans will go forward with Brock Purdy as his quarterback, but he also considered moving to Buffalo to team with Josh Allen.
“So I was looking at here, Buffalo Bills, teams that needed a No. 1 wide receiver,” Evans said. “I liked this place. This was my No. 1 spot on my own.”
It is unclear if the Bills were aggressive in pursuing Evans, especially after they acquired the pricey D.J. Moore from the Bears last week. However, if the Bills brought in Evans to pair with Moore, it would have given them a much better outside receiver duo than they had last year. The Bills have a quality slot target in Khalil Shakir, but the rest of their wideouts underwhelmed in 2025.
Former second-round pick Keon Coleman did not progress as hoped during a year in which former head coach Sean McDermott made him a healthy scratch four times. Meanwhile, Josh Palmer and Curtis Samuel struggled to produce during injury-shortened years. To no surprise, the Bills released Samuel last Friday. Late-season pickup Brandin Cooks is also a free agent. Tyrell Shavers is under contract, but he will miss time next season after tearing his ACL in a wild-card round win over the Jaguars.
As things stand, Coleman and Palmer are Buffalo’s top boundary receivers beyond Moore. There is clearly still room for improvement, whether it comes by way of a dwindling free agent market, another trade or the draft.
Jauan Jennings, the 49ers’ most productive receiver in 2025, may be the No. 1 option left in free agency. The 49ers have already lost auxiliary wideout Kendrick Bourne to the Cardinals, but they now have Evans slotting in with Ricky Pearsall atop their receiving corps. The 49ers are counting on healthier seasons for both players. Multiple injuries – including a hamstring strain and a broken clavicle – limited Evans to eight games in 2025 and denied him a record-setting 12th straight 1,000-yard season. Knee problems held Pearsall to nine games during the second year of his career.
Despite injuries to Pearsall and a slew of other noteworthy contributors, the 49ers went 12-5 and advanced to the divisional round last season. During their run to a Super Bowl title, the NFC West rival Seahawks knocked the 49ers out of the postseason in a 41-6 blowout. But Evans, who won a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, is confident he will help San Francisco get over the hump next year.
“Even with all the injuries last year … I feel like they were one piece away,” the six-time Pro Bowler said (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN). “And I think that I am that piece. I look forward to coming here and proving that.”
49ers To Sign CB Nate Hobbs
Nate Hobbs has quickly found a new home. After getting cut by the Packers earlier this week, the cornerback is signing with the 49ers, according to Jordan Schultz. It’s one-year deal for the cornerback. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero says the deal could be worth up to $4.5MM.
[RELATED: Packers To Release CB Nate Hobbs]
After completing his rookie contract with the Raiders, Hobbs inked a four-year, $48MM deal with the Packers last offseason. The cornerback’s injury problems persisted in Green Bay, where he dealt with knee issues for much of the campaign. It started with a meniscus issue in training camp, and it concluded with a season-ending MCL injury. The 26-year-old ultimately got in 11 games (five starts) during his lone season with the Packers.
Instead of facing the second year of Hobbs’ contract, the Packers moved on from him earlier this week. The move created $8.84MM in cap savings for the Packers while generating a dead money charge of $4MM.
The 2021 fifth-round pick impressed as a rookie, including a fifth-place ranking in Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings. He struggled to reach that ceiling over the next three years, with Hobbs often finding himself in and out of the starting lineup with the Raiders. He finished his tenure in Las Vegas with 281 stops and three interceptions.
Hobbs will get another chance to show what he’s got in San Francisco. However, if he wants to serve as more than a backup, he’ll have to leap the incumbents. At the moment, the 49ers are set to return basically their entire CB corps, including Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, and Upton Stout.
49ers DE Bryce Huff To Retire
After six years in the NFL, 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff is calling it a career. Huff announced his retirement on Instagram on Thursday (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN).
Huff, 27, was traded to the 49ers last offseason and appeared in 15 games during the regular season. He recorded four sacks and six tackles for loss, the second-best production of his career that was still disappointing relative to double-digit totals in both categories in 2023.
The former Memphis standout signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and carved out a rotational role on the defensive line as a rookie. He put up 7.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss in his first three years, though peripheral metrics like his pass rush win rate suggested he had more to offer.
That turned out to be the case in 2023, when he put up 10 sacks and 10 tackles for loss to go along with a 22.9% PRWR that ranked third among defensive linemen, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Huff peaked at the right time and earned a three-yera, $51MM payday from the Eagles with $34MM in guaranteed money.
A disappointing follow-up effort led the Eagles to reconsider their investment, and they ended up trading Huff to the 49ers for a conditional Day 3 pick. He rebounded upon reuniting with Robert Saleh, his head coach in New York, leading the 49ers with 46 pressures.
Huff was due just over $17MM in 2026 with a $5.4MM cap hit, per OverTheCap, but his retirement will wipe both of those numbers off San Francisco’s books. The 49ers will now be looking for edge-rushing depth with Yetur Gross-Matos and Clelin Ferrell also hitting free agency.
Huff will leave the NFL with 81 appearances (21 starts), 24.0 sacks, and 26 tackles for loss to his name, along with just over $40MM in career earnings. In his retirement announcement, he revealed his post-playing plans of starting a company to build safety infrastructure to reduce fire risk when using lithium batteries.
NFC West Notes: Austin, Gannon, Cards, Conner, Hawks, Curl, Rams, 49ers
While Arthur Smith is heading to the college ranks (as Ohio State’s OC) after Mike Tomlin‘s resignation, longtime Steelers DC Teryl Austin landed another NFL gig. Austin is taking over as a senior assistant with the Cardinals, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. This is a return Arizona trip for Austin, who was on Ken Whisenhunt‘s staff with the Cardinals previously. The three-time NFL DC served as Cardinals DBs coach from 2007-10, being part of the franchise’s Super Bowl XLIII team. Now 61, Austin — who interviewed for the Commanders’ DC job — will join Mike LaFleur‘s staff to provide experience under 32-year-old DC Nick Rallis.
Here is the latest from around the NFC West:
- Shortly before Week 18, a report indicated Jonathan Gannon was likelier to return for a fourth season than be fired. But the Cardinals axed their HC after a 3-14 season. Considering the step back from an 8-9 2024, it didn’t seem off base to fire Gannon. But those in the organization were surprised Michael Bidwill cut the cord, per ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss, who adds others around the league were caught off-guard by that ouster. Gannon landed HC and DC interviews following his firing and ended up as the Packers’ defensive boss. Arizona retained Rallis, though multiple candidates dropped out of their hiring process, under new HC Mike LaFleur.
- The Cardinals’ James Conner pay cut comes out to a one-year, $3MM deal that KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes contains $2.1MM guaranteed. Conner signed a two-year, $19MM extension in 2024 but missed most of last season due to injury. The $2.1MM guarantee number does not exactly lock in the 10th-year veteran for 2026, especially with the Cards changing staffs, but the longtime Arizona starter will have a shot.
- The Seahawks lost several Super Bowl starters but retained two by re-signing Rashid Shaheed and Josh Jobe. Shaheed’s three-year, $51MM contract includes $34.7MM guaranteed; of the latter total, $23MM is guaranteed at signing (per OverTheCap). None of that guarantee covers 2027, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets. Shaheed’s $11.74MM 2027 base salary is guaranteed for injury; it shifts to a full guarantee five days after Super Bowl LXI. That gives Seattle a potential early out, as this contract is structured like Sam Darnold‘s and Cooper Kupp‘s. As for Jobe, his three-year, $24MM pact, $9.25MM is fully guaranteed. Wilson adds $14.25MM is guaranteed in total, with $5MM of his $6.49MM 2027 base salary also becoming guaranteed five days after Super Bowl LXI.
- Jaylen Watson joins ex-Chiefs teammate Trent McDuffie with the Rams, who gave the multiyear Kansas City CB2 a three-year, $51MM contract. Of Watson’s $34MM guaranteed, $26.5MM is locked in at signing (per OverTheCap). The Rams are giving Watson an $11MM guarantee on his 2027 base salary ($13.99MM), according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. The remaining $2.99MM shifts to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2027 league year. Elsewhere in the L.A. secondary, Kamren Curl‘s three-year, $36MM deal includes $18.75MM guaranteed at signing (per OverTheCap). Of Curl’s $11.6MM 2027 base salary, Wilson notes $7MM is fully guaranteed. The rest shifts from an injury guarantee on Day 3 of the ’27 league year. Curl will be due a $3.43MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2028 league year, Wilson adds.
- Shifting back to the Cardinals, the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin notes their Kendrick Bourne contract includes $6.5MM fully guaranteed. Initially reported as an $11.47MM deal, Bourne’s base value is $10MM (via OverTheCap). As for D-tackle Roy Lopez‘s Arizona return (for two years and $10.5MM), Wilson adds the veteran received $1MM of his $3.47MM 2027 base salary guaranteed for injury. That shifts to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2027 league year.
- The 49ers identified their replacement for tight ends coach Brian Fleury, who left to take the Seahawks’ OC job. Cameron Clemmons will slide from assistant O-line coach to that spot, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco notes. Previously the Raiders’ assistant O-line coach, Clemmons has been on the 49ers’ staff since 2024. San Francisco is also adding Kent State O-line coach Angel Matute to their staff, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz tweets.
49ers Acquire DT Osa Odighizuwa From Cowboys
Osa Odighizuwa will be on the move after all. A trade has been agreed to which will send the veteran defensive tackle from the Cowboys to the 49ers, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports. The deal is now official.
San Francisco will send Dallas a third-round pick, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds. As such, the Cowboys will add the No. 92 selection in April’s draft. The team did not own a second- or third-rounder in 2026 prior to this agreement.
[RELATED: Cowboys Trade DL Solomon Thomas To Titans]
A report from Tuesday indicated teams were showing trade interest in Odighizuwa. Dallas already has Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams on the books. The Cowboys also lined up a deal with free agent Otito Ogbonnia, adding further to their depth at the defensive tackle spot. Inquirers from the Bengals did not yield traction, but Dallas clearly remained open to moving forward with a swap in this case. The team will create $4.75MM in cap space while generating $16MM in dead money.
The Cowboys will clear Odighizuwa’s $16.25MM salary in 2026 as a result of this trade. The 49ers, meanwhile, will take on the remainder of his contract; the pact runs through 2028. Odighizuwa inked a four-year, $80MM deal last offseason, but the arrivals of Clark and Williams threatened to cut into his playing time. A heavy workload will await him in the Bay Area, while Dallas will not face the challenge of maintaining three DTs attached to large contracts.
As Schultz confirms, the 49ers were among the runners-up for free agent John Franklin-Myers. The former Bronco wound up agreeing to a lucrative deal with the Titans. San Francisco has pivoted in short order. In addition to wideout Mike Evans, this constitutes certainly a significant addition on the part of general manager John Lynch early in the new league year.
Jordan Elliott lined up an agreement with Tennessee during the early stages of free agency, thinning out the 49ers’ defensive line. Odighizuwa will help serve as a replacement, and he will be counted on to remain a strong contributor against the pass in particular on his new team. The 27-year-old has recorded between 3.0 and 4.5 sacks each season since his rookie campaign. He totaled 64 QB pressures over the past two years, and disruption on that level would be welcomed in San Francisco.
The injury-ravaged 49ers ranked last in the NFL in sacks this past season. A healthy year from Nick Bosa and others would of course go a long way in helping the team bounce back in that regard. Nevertheless, Odighizuwa’s arrival should provide a pass rush boost along the interior for 2026 and beyond.
49ers To Sign OL Brett Toth
Following his third stint with the Eagles, Brett Toth will be playing elsewhere in 2026. The veteran offensive lineman is signing with the 49ers, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
It’s a one-year deal for Toth. While the financials aren’t known, Fowler notes that 95 percent of the deal will be guaranteed.
After redshirting as a rookie with the Eagles (first stint) and Cardinals, Toth finally got an opportunity to play for Philly during the 2020 campaign. He got into 11 games the following year, but a serious knee injury suffered in Week 17 knocked him out for the entire 2022 season.
He got into three games with the Panthers when he returned from injury in 2023, but the Eagles were quick to snag him back at the end of that year. That marked Toth’s third stint with the team, and he’s exclusively been with the organization ever since.
He was forced on the team’s playoff roster in 2024, and he ended up having the most significant role of his career this past year. He finished 2025 having appeared in 17 games (four starts). Pro Football Focus actually ranked him 13th among 79 qualifying guards, although that score was solely supported by his run-blocking abilities.
The 49ers dealt with a number of injuries on their offensive line last year, so the team will surely take whatever depth they can get. The front office has already brought in veteran Vederian Lowe, although Trent Williams‘ future with the organization remains uncertain.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/26
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: RB Zonovan Knight
- Signed: LS Casey Kreiter
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: C Corey Levin, LB Channing Tindall
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: DE Trevis Gipson, TE James Mitchell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Jack Stoll
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Tyrus Wheat
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: FB Adam Prentice
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: OLB Brenton Cox, DT Jonathan Ford
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: LS Josh Harris
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Zayne Anderson, TE Ben Sims
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Mike Brown, TE Julian Hill
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LB Zaire Barnes
New York Jets
- Re-signed: OT Max Mitchell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: OL Jack Driscoll
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: RB Patrick Taylor
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: LS Chris Stoll
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Malik Herring