Niners Nation
Before the San Francisco 49ers signed De’Vondre Campbell during the 2024 offseason, they wanted veteran Eric Kendricks. In fact, both sides agreed to a deal.
The thought was that Kendricks would replace Dre Greenlaw, fresh off tearing his Achilles. Kendricks, now 33, played 15 games last year for the Dallas Cowboys, recording 138 tackles, and registered three sacks and an interception. He has not appeared in a game this season.
The 49ers got away with playing Curtis Robinson against the Carolina Panthers. Robinson struggled, to say the least. He missed the most tackles on the team, and was fortunate that some of those didn’t result in bigger plays. There was enough on film to warrant a change.
The problem is, with Tatum Bethune still sidelined, there are no other options. Not until Kendricks, anyway. We’ll see how quickly Kendricks can get up to speed. You have to think that there’s a reason Kendricks remains available a day before Thanksgiving.
But his experience could help accelerate the learning curve, and, at least from a talent perspective, it shouldn’t be long to realize what Kendricks brings to the table over Robinson, provided he’s not completely washed as an athlete.
What will be interesting is to see what happens once Bethune returns. Bethune is an excellent run defender, but pass coverage hasn’t been his strongest suit. If Kendricks can add something to the 49ers’ passing defense, this could prove to be a sneaky good signing.
