The 49ers are reshuffling their defensive line to begin the free agency period.
Starting at 9 a.m. PT Monday, NFL teams could start negotiating with free agents before the league calendar resets on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT and signings can become official. After making a big splash with a four-year pact with prized defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, the 49ers were also involved with a couple smaller transactions on their d-line.
According to reports, the 49ers will re-signed Kevin Givens to a one-year contract while Hassan Ridgeway will be joining the Houston Texans. Matt Barrows of The Athletic and Adam Schefter of ESPN shared the details Monday. The 49ers confirmed Givens' re-signing later in the day.
Ridgeway gets to reunite with former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who became the Texans head coach this offseason. Ridgeway played in 12 games (seven starts) last season and helped hold down the fort when starting defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Kilnaw were injured. In Week 13, Ridgeway suffered a pectoral injury that kept him out the rest of the season.
Givens has been a valuable depth piece for the 49ers for the past couple of seasons and made a career-high 11 starts in 2022 while the unit was decimated by injuries. With the addition of Hargrave, Givens figures to remain in a backup role in the regular rotation.
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