Dre Greenlaw might not be the 49ers’ top choice at linebacker during free agency.
Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood will be a free agent and he has ties to 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as well. That’s because Saleh drafted Sherwood and developed him in New York.
Now, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is hearing that the 49ers could try to sign Sherwood this offseason.
“Three different personnel evaluators brought up Sherwood to me unprompted when discussing the free agency class,” writes Fowler. “Watch for Atlanta, which features a lot of former Jets staffing, or San Francisco, where former Jets coach Robert Saleh now runs the defense.”
Sherwood is only 25 years old and hasn’t missed a game in the past three seasons since he tore his Achilles as a rookie. Greenlaw will be 28 in May and played just 34 snaps this season after tearing his Achilles in the Super Bowl.
Which means Sherwood could be the smarter investment. This season, he became a full-time starter for the first time in his career and led the league with 98 solo tackles. Here’s what Pro Football Focus thinks of him:
“Sherwood burst onto the scene in a full-time role as injuries continued to hamper veteran C.J. Mosley, with a similar hair-on-fire playing style to fellow Jets linebacker Quincy Williams. Sherwood’s emergence as a safety-to-linebacker convert was a rare bright spot in a disappointing year for the team from top to bottom. If the presumed departure and/or retirement of Mosley comes to fruition, perhaps Sherwood can stick around heading into 2025.”
Pro Football Focus estimates that Sherwood will sign a two-year, $15.5 million deal this offseason. Sounds like a bargain for a three-down linebacker who’s just entering his prime.
