The 49ers are heading into 2026 with a real problem off the edge, and the numbers from last season make it hard to ignore. San Francisco finished the 2025 campaign with 20 sacks, but a big chunk of that production is already gone as the team traveled to Australia.
Bryce Huff, who was tied for the team lead with four sacks, is retired and not on the trip. Clelin Ferrell, also at four sacks last season, is with the Miami Dolphins practice squad.
Sam Okuayinonu, who had three sacks, is still on the roster but did not travel. Kalia Davis, who logged a half sack, is now with the Cleveland Browns.
In all, 11.5 of the 20 sacks from last season are not making the trip to “land down under.”
That leaves San Francisco leaning on a lot of moving parts and a whole lot of hope. Osa Odigizuwa is the biggest addition on the defensive line, and while he is not a big sack producer, he does help by collapsing the pocket from the interior.
Last season with the Dallas Cowboys, Odigizuwa produced 31 pressures per Pro Football Reference. By comparison, the 49ers’ main four interior linemen combined for 17 pressures.
In other words, one player created 14 more pressures than Alfred Collins, CJ West, Kalia Davis, and Jordan Elliott combined.
Nick Bosa can erase a lot of those concerns when he’s right, but that’s the issue: how healthy is he at the moment? Based on what has - and hasn’t - shown up in training camp, there isn’t much confidence he’ll be available all season long.
The rest of the edge room doesn’t exactly scream certainty, either. Nick Bosa remains the only edge rusher drafted by this regime to post more than three sacks in a season.
Rookie Romello Height is trying to change that, but he has his own availability question after missing practice Wednesday with a fever and an ankle injury. And for an edge rusher, an ankle is no small thing.
Keion White is another name to watch. He’s entering year four in the NFL and his first full season with the 49ers.
His best-case baseline is probably what he did in 2024 with the Patriots: five sacks and 28 pressures. If he can deliver that in a contract year, San Francisco would gladly take it.
Still, the bigger issue is the one that keeps hanging over this roster: why hasn’t the 49ers’ front office added a veteran edge rusher yet? The team was poor at generating pressure and getting to the quarterback last season, and the current group doesn’t look like it has enough proven help.
Joey Bosa comes up as one possible answer, especially in a rotational role where he could provide five sacks and 20 pressures. The concern, of course, is where he is right now between golf and football shape. The argument here is simple: saving $5-$7M in cap space is not worth another season like last year, especially with a secondary that can’t be expected to cover forever.
If not Joey Bosa, Leonard Floyd looks like the cleaner fit. Floyd had a reduced role with the Atlanta Falcons last season but still managed 3.5 sacks.
The year before that, he had 8.5 sacks with the 49ers. He also knows Raheem Morris’ system, having played for him in Atlanta last season and with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
During those two seasons in LA under Morris, Floyd posted the two best pressure totals of his career.
That’s why the push for a veteran addition keeps coming back to Floyd. He makes more sense than Joey Bosa, and the 49ers still haven’t made the move.
With George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and especially Trent Williams all getting older, San Francisco can’t keep acting like time is on its side. Right now, the roster looks like it’s setting itself up to be Tom this season.
In Other News...
49ers Now Face A Bigger Jed York Problem Than The Arrest
Jed Yorks recent legal trouble has already put the 49ers in an awkward spot, but the more immediate concern inside the organization may be what happens around the business side of the franchise if his presence stays limited. General manager John Lynch has said the team is preparing for possible league discipline while football operations continue under executive Al Guido, a setup that keeps the day-to-day work moving even as the owners status hangs over the building.
For now, the 49ers say the locker room and team activities have not been affected, which is the kind of answer clubs tend to give when they want the football to stay separate from everything else. Still, this is not just about the arrest itself. It is about how much of Yorks role can be carried out from a distance, how the league responds, and whether a franchise used to having its owner close at hand can keep functioning smoothly if that becomes the new normal. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Week 1 Could Hinge On A Rams Discipline Decision
The Rams enter their international opener against the 49ers with two notable players still available on paper, even as the league continues to weigh possible discipline. Puka Nacua is facing a civil lawsuit alleging physical assault and battery, and Alaric Jackson remains in the same waiting pattern, with neither player placed on the commissioners exempt list ahead of Week 1.
For San Francisco, the timing matters almost as much as the ruling itself. The NFL has shown before that suspensions can land in early September, but there has been no official announcement yet, leaving the 49ers to prepare for a division game with one more layer of uncertainty than usual. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Australia Plan Could Create A Huge Rams Debate
The 49ers trip to Australia for their 2026 season opener is already shaping up to be more than just a long-haul curiosity. San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams are set to open the NFL regular season in Melbourne on Sept. 10, and the contrast in travel plans has become part of the conversation before either team boards a plane.
The Rams intend to arrive the day before the game and leave immediately afterward, while the 49ers are planning to get there several days early to adjust to the time difference. That difference has prompted some outside debate about which approach is smarter for handling jetlag, with neurologist W. Christopher Winter suggesting the Rams shorter stay could actually be the better way to manage the trip. [Read more 🡒]