The 49ers lost an important piece of their defensive front in Javon Hargrave, who likely will miss the remainder of the 2024 NFL season after tearing his triceps in San Francisco's 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Prior to the injury, coach Kyle Shanahan had been impressed how Hargrave was progressing in his second 49ers season and explained the loss via conference call on Monday.
“It’s a big one,” Shanahan said. “I thought he had his best game yesterday. I thought he was a huge factor and really affected the quarterback in that game and it's a big loss. He’s one of out better players and he was definitely going the right direction and was going to have a big year.”
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The 49ers have a few defensive linemen on the practice squad who they might look to for contributions on the field, while Shanahan confirmed that Yetur Gross-Matos is a candidate to move to the interior of the line in Hargrave’s absence.
“We are still working on that,” Shanahan said. “We have a couple guys on the practice squad that we will most likely bring up. We have some good outside guys that are good inside rushers as far as pass downs, but we always look at what’s available out there.”
Sam Okuayinonu has been elevated from the practice squad for all three contests this season, making him a candidate to be added to the 53-man roster. The 49ers also has T.Y. McGill on the practice squad, who has appeared in 11 games over his previous two seasons in the Bay Area.
Alex Barrett has been with the 49ers since 2019, but has appeared in just seven games for San Francisco, all in 2020. Rookie Evan Anderson, undrafted out of Florida Atlantic, rounds out the bunch.
San Francisco 49ers
Hassan Ridgeway is a free agent that the 49ers could consider. The defensive tackle has experience with the 49ers, playing in 12 games during the 2022 season. Al Woods, who played for the Seattle Seahawks from 2019-2022 and for the New York Jets last season, is another free-agent option.
What is certain is that the 49ers likely won't break the bank to acquire a defensive tackle for a unit, and team, that is loaded with high-salaried stars.