Tuesday, 23 March 2021

49ers Lose Sack Leader to Seahawks on Hefty 3-Year Deal: Report

One week after losing cornerback Akhello Witherspoon to the Seattle Seahawks, another prominent San Francisco 49ers free agent is joining the NFC West rivals.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday evening, the Seahawks are in agreement with defensive end Kerry Hyder on a new three-year deal worth up to $17.5 million, a sizeable pay raise considering his $4.3 million in career earnings through seven NFL seasons.

ALL the latest 49ers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on 49ers newsletter here!

Join Heavy on 49ers!


Hyder Led the 49ers in Sacks in 2020

The soon-to-be 30-year-old pass rusher had himself a career-best performance last season, his first as a full-time starter. In 16 games (14 starts) on the edge, Hyder racked up 49 combined tackles and a team-leading 8.5 sacks — 5.0 more than his next closest teammate. Although the 8.5 sacks were down from Arik Armstead’s 2019 high mark of 10.0, they still ranked 20th among all pass rushers across the league.

Hyder’s 68.6 Pro Football Focus rating last year also ranked 35th at the position.

Based on the Seahawks’ financial commitment to the 6-foot-2, 270-pounder, Hyder is likely being projected as Seattle’s new starting defensive end in place of Carlos Dunlap, who was cut earlier this month in a $14 million cap-clearing move after one season in the Upper Northwest.

A former undrafted free agent, the Seahawks are Hyder’s fifth team in eight seasons, following stints with the New York Jets (2014), Detroit Lions (2015-18), Dallas Cowboys (2019) and 49ers (2020). For his career, Hyder has tallied 108 total tackles, 43 quarterback hits, 18.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 56 games, primarily in a reserve role until last year.

More to come.

READ NEXT:

Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on 49ers Facebook community for the latest out of the Bay Area!


No comments:

Post a Comment