It’s Taco Tuesday, y’all.
The 49ers announced Tuesday morning they have signed edge rusher Taco Charlton and waived safety Avery Young. Charlton, listed at 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, was a 2017 first-round pick (No. 28 overall) but has bounced around the league since.
The 28-year-old has played for the Dallas Cowboys (27 games), Miami Dolphins (10 games), Kansas City Chiefs (seven games), Pittsburgh Steelers (11 games) and Chicago Bears (five games) while also spending time on the New Orleans Saints practice squad (2022) and Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad (2023).
Charlton was spotted wearing a No. 77 jersey during Tuesday’s practice, via @TheSFNiners on Twitter.
Character concerns have followed Charlton at multiple stops throughout his career. Back in 2019, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that Charlton’s “motivation” and attitude were an issue.
“Individuals do it a lot of different ways,” Jones said. “For whatever the reason, that area of Taco -- it has much to do with his own disappointment, his own feeling he can do better. I've seen him do a rep at practice. Saw it this year in training camp. And when he didn't get there, he just wilted. It just looked like it impacted everything he was going to do for the rest of the practice.”
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald also reported in 2020, “Club sources complained Charlton’s attitude was not what the Dolphins had hoped.”
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan demands a lot of out of his players and wants them to fit his system, but they clearly see some potential for Charlton, who adds depth as Nick Bosa holds out.
Charlton has racked up 11.5 sacks in his career, his best season coming in 2019 when he had five sacks in 10 games (five starts) for the Dolphins.
