The San Francisco 49ers are adding a linebacker after news that Tatum Bethune would miss the playoffs with a groin injury. The team is signing linebacker Kyzir White, per Jordan Schultz.
White mutually agreed to part ways with the Tennessee Titans on December 2. He’s been a free agent since. A hamstring injury limited White to 20 snaps this season.
White played 93.6 percent of the snaps for the Arizona Cardinals in 2024, starting in every game. He had 137 tackles, 63 run stops, and 22 quarterback pressures, good for a 20 percent pressure rate. He didn’t miss a snap for the Cardinals in 2023 before landing on the Injured Reserve after tearing his biceps in November 2023.
At 29, White is experienced and has seen a lot of football in this league. We will see what he brings to the table for the 49ers, who are extremely thin at linebacker.
Bethune isn’t the only linebacker banged up. Fred Warner and rookie Nick Martin are on the Injured Reserve and aren’t an option in the Wild Card round. Dee Winters has an ankle injury that the team will evaluate throughout the week. Luke Gifford has a quad injury that will also be evaluated throughout the week.
Kyle Shanahan said, “It could be Garret Wallow, it could be Curtis Robinson,” when asked who would play the weakside spot if Winters doesn’t suit up. Both of those players are lifetime special teamers. You can’t go into a playoff game relying on inexperience and expecting to get away with it.
White’s ability to rush the passer and make plays at or behind the line of scrimmage makes him an intriguing option. White played on the weakside in the one game he appeared in with the Titans this season. He tackled Jonathan Taylor from a standstill for a two-yard gain, stopping Taylor in his tracks. He also missed a tackle pursuing Taylor, which led to a 46-yard touchdown. White played on special teams in that game, too.
Adding White might be more about keeping Wallow and Robinson off the field. Both looked out of their depth in limited action. The question for White is how much of Robert Saleh’s scheme he can digest during the week to give the coaching staff enough confidence to play him? Having a veteran like Eric Kendricks by his side should help with the learning curve, as should White’s 8 years of experience.
The only other option on the roster at the position is on the practice squad. The 49ers used Jalen Graham in Week 13 when their hand was forced by injury, but the former 7th-round pick has mainly been a special-teamer when he’s been active.
White had an interception, a tackle for loss, and a pair of pressures against the 49ers in Week 5 of the 2024 regular season. He added a couple of tackles for loss in their meaningless Week 18 matchup. In 2023, White had seven tackles in the one game he played against the Niners. So, the 49ers have enough firsthand experience in recent years to gauge what kind of player they are getting with White.
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