Considering he was out of the league in 2018, it may have been inevitable.
This came out on Thursday, but it seems worth mentioning here on Niners Nation and that’s the news that former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Quinton Dial announced his retirement via his Instagram page. The decision closes the book on a five year career in the NFL, four of which were spent with the 49ers.
A fifth-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, Dial was unable to start a full 16-game schedule during his time in the NFL. Despite finding himself in and out of the starting lineup during his time with the San Francisco 49ers he had a solid presence on the defensive side of the ball and great versatility. If only Dial could have gotten to the quarterback more he may have seen more time (4.5 career sacks over 59 games).
When John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan took over, Dial survived the initial roster purge, but was cut on the way to the 2017 53-man roster. The writing was on the wall for a few weeks considering they signed Earl Mitchell that year and also drafted D.J. Jones. Dial went to the Green Bay Packers where he played 13 games, started in two, and notched 12 tackles (solo) that season—a far cry from his numbers in San Francisco. Given that 2017 and the fact he never played in 2018, retirement seemed inevitable. The 49ers got the best out of him, that’s for sure.
Given that the retirement was accompanied with a photo of him in a hospital bed and dressed in a gown, many have been wondering what he was in for. There’s a lot of speculation that it may be for a knee surgery, but there’s been nothing confirmed.
Dial was one of the mainstays that came in at the tail end of the Harbaugh era and almost got to see the beginning of the Kyle Shanahan regime. It’s a shame that the 49ers couldn’t get more out of him, because it was looking like a nice pick when it was made.
Best of luck, Dial. Get healthy!
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