Free agent defensive end Austin Bryant’s visit with the 49ers went well enough to earn the four-year veteran a contract. NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on Wednesday reported Bryant agreed to a one-year deal with San Francisco.
Injuries limited Bryant to just 10 games across his first two seasons with Detroit after they took him in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
He played in 14 games and posted a career-best 4.5 sacks in 2021, but didn’t record a sack last year while playing in only nine games.
Bryant, 26, put up 17.0 sacks in his final two seasons with Clemson where he played for four years. He joins fellow Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell as veterans looking to revamp their careers on San Francisco’s defensive line.
At 6-5, 260 pounds, Bryant has the size to play multiple spots on the 49ers’ front. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in a hybrid role where he rushes from the edge and the interior like Arden Key and Charles Omenihu have both done recently for San Francisco and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.
