The first 24 hours into the NFL’s opening negotiating period saw the 49ers reach contract agreements with two defensive linemen while also losing two defensive linemen.
Edge rushers Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos have agreed to sign with the 49ers, while Javon Kinlaw and Clelin Ferrell are heading out the door.
In the cases of Kinlaw and Ferrell, both men were attracted to other NFL destinations with 49ers ties.
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Kinlaw is set to rejoin Robert Saleh, his former defensive coordinator with the 49ers. Saleh enters his third season as New York Jets head coach. Salen has long been a supporter of Kinlaw and believed, once he got healthy, he would turn into a top-notch player.
Kinlaw's knee condition was finally corrected last season. He remained healthy and showed some flashes of promise.
Ferrell has an agreement in place to join the Washington Commanders. He is one of first-year general manager and former 49ers executive Adam Peters' first free-agent pickups.
The 49ers entered the open-negotiating period Monday with six scheduled free agents on the defensive line.
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In addition, the 49ers are set to release veteran Arik Armstead, who has declined a significant pay reduction, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area.
The 49ers reached agreements with two players in an attempt to bolster their pass rush opposite of Nick Bosa.
In Bosa’s four full seasons, the most single-season sacks the 49ers have gotten from the edge rushers on the other side were 6.5 from Dee Ford and Arden Key in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Last year, the 49ers’ top edge rushers other than Bosa were Ferrell (3.5 sacks), Drake Jackson (3), and Chase Young and Randy Gregory (2.5 apiece).
Jackson opened the season as the 49ers’ pass-rush specialist on third downs. After registering three sacks in the season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson was shut out over his next seven games before a quad injury shut him down for the remainder of the season.
Now, Jackson will have more competition for a spot in the 49ers’ rotation along the defensive line with the additions of Floyd and Gross-Matos.
Floyd played with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams for defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who joined the 49ers’ staff under first-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.
He entered the NFL as the No. 9 overall pick of the Bears in 2016. After a slow start to his career, he has turned into a consistent producer. He has registered consecutive seasons of 10.5, 9.5, 9 and 10.5 sacks while with the Los Angeles Rams and last year with the Buffalo Bills.
Floyd has started 120 of the 121 career games in which he has appeared.
Gross-Matos was a second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2020 from Penn State. He spent time on injured reserve with a hamstring injury but still managed to produce a career-best 4.5 sacks on the season.
The 49ers now have four legitimate options on the edge with Bosa, Floyd, Gross-Matos and Jackson. The 49ers also believe Robert Beal Jr. has a chance to contribute as a second-year player.
Now, general manager John Lynch must shift his attention to the interior of their defensive line, where Hargrave is the only player who spent all of last season on an NFL 53-man roster.
Kevin Givens is an unrestricted free agency, and he is a player the 49ers would like to bring back.
The 49ers figure to add a veteran or two at defensive tackle while also looking to address that position with one or more of their 11 draft selections next month.
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