The 49ers took a close look at eight defenders on Tuesday as they continue shaping the roster for the second half of the regular season.
Per the NFL transaction wire, San Francisco brought in four defensive tackles, three defensive backs and one defensive end for tryouts. The group featured a mix of young players trying to stick in the league and a few veterans with real NFL mileage.
Among the most intriguing names was defensive tackle Aaron Graves, another undrafted Houston rookie who, like DE Dominic Bailey, spent this year with the Texans. Graves appeared in all three preseason games and recorded three tackles and a quarterback hit.
At Iowa, he built a strong college résumé over four seasons, piling up 122 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks and one interception in 52 games. If the 49ers do make a move from this group, Graves stands out as the most interesting option.
Bailey also came out of Tennessee as an undrafted rookie after the draft and landed with Houston. Over six seasons with the Volunteers, he put up 76 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks in 55 games. He played all three preseason games for the Texans this year and finished with two tackles across 115 total snaps.
San Francisco also checked in on defensive tackle Matthew Butler, a former fifth-round pick by the Raiders in 2022. Butler has logged 27 tackles and 0.5 sacks in 27 career games, with 15 appearances over three seasons in Las Vegas and 12 more last year with Miami.
Another defensive tackle in the mix was Kristian Williams, who entered the league as an undrafted rookie with Denver last year. He has not appeared in a regular-season game yet, but he did see action in five preseason games across two years, playing 106 snaps and recording two tackles.
Chris Williams was the only player in the group with regular-season action this year. He appeared in two games for Cleveland and posted one tackle and one quarterback hit.
Since entering the league with Indianapolis in 2021, he has played in 46 games for the Colts, Bears and Browns, totaling 44 tackles, 4.0 sacks and four tackles for loss. He also missed the 2023 season.
On the back end, the 49ers worked out Christian Braswell, Kyu Blu Kelly and David Long. Braswell entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of Jacksonville in 2023 and has played 26 games for the Jaguars, collecting 19 tackles and two tackles for loss while contributing heavily on special teams. He played in all 17 games for Jacksonville in 2025 after appearing in three games in each of his first three seasons.
Kelly’s path has bounced around the league since the Ravens made him a fifth-round pick in 2023. He played eight games as a rookie without appearing for Baltimore, then spent time with Seattle, Green Bay and Washington before landing with the Raiders in 2024. Last season, he started eight of 13 games and now has 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions and six pass breakups in his pro career.
Long brings the most experience of the defensive backs to the workout. Over seven NFL seasons, he has played in 80 games with 12 starts across stops with the Rams, Raiders, Packers, Panthers and Colts. His career line includes 96 tackles, one interception and eight pass breakups.
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