Niners Nation
Demetrius Flannigan Fowles was an undrafted free agent out of Arizona in 2019. His run with the 49ers is up
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that the San Francisco 49ers released linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
Flannigan-Fowles played 335 snaps for the Niners in 2024. He started in Week 4 after playing 11, 18, and 10 snaps in the first three weeks of the season. However, the defense did not use DFF again until Week 15. He remained an integral part of the special teams units, but we saw how those units performed this past season. Flannigan-Fowles missed or did not play in five games this past season.
Flannigan-Fowles was part of the trend in which the 49ers drafted safeties in college and transitioned them to linebackers in the NFL. San Francisco had success with “tweener” players. Look no further than Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
Schefter's use of the term “released” feels a bit misleading, as Flannigan-Fowles was set to be an unrestricted free agent. This could be more procedural, or word is getting out that the Niners are parting ways with DFF and won’t bring him back on a veteran minimum contract.
Fred Warner, Dee Winters, and Tatum Bethune are the only players who saw playing time in 2024 at linebacker who are currently under contract for this upcoming season. Greenlaw remains one of the bigger dominoes in the 49ers off-season.
