The 49ers’ already shaky defensive end situation got a little more tenuous Thursday when the team announced Jordan Willis will be suspended for the first six games of the 2021 campaign for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
While Willis wasn’t a player the 49ers were going to heavily rely on, his absence shines a light on a lingering weakness in San Francisco’s roster. With Willis sidelined, the onus will fall on Nick Bosa, Samson Ebukam, Dee Ford, Arden Key and a host of others to try and piece together a good enough defensive end rotation.
The 49ers haven’t seemed too eager to add additional defensive end depth during the offseason, but the prospect of missing Willis for six games could be enough to push the club to make an addition.
Good pass rushers don’t typically last long in free agency, and they almost never hang around past the end of March and into June. San Francisco doesn’t necessarily need another great pass rusher though. They could simply add an extra body to the competition to see if there’s an available player who can provide better depth than what they’ll go into the year with.
Here are six of the handful of defensive ends still available in free agency: