In Jim Tomsula’s continued effort to scour the earth for every available defensive lineman, the 49ers have signed former Arizona Cardinal Darnell Dockett to a two-year deal, according to Drew Rosenhaus, Dockett’s agent.
In all seriousness, it’s tough to be mad at this signing. Just last week, the 49ers were entertaining the idea of bringing back Ricky Jean Francois, who was nice as a backup defensive end during his time with the 49ers, and not much better than the same adjective as a starter for the Colts. Instead they now have Dockett on a deal worth $4M in 2015, and up to $7.5M total if he stays through 2016, according to Matt Barrows.
In Dockett, San Francisco is getting a veteran pass rusher that they’re familiar with, and a good one at that.
Dockett fills a need at DE for #49ers. Interested to see how they use him. Since 2007, he has a pass rush grade of +50.2 but -122.9 vs. run.
— Jeff Deeney (@PFF_Jeff) March 5, 2015
Barrows said the 49ers’ Wednesday meeting with Dockett included a close look at the ACL injury that sidelined the defensive lineman for all of the 2014 season. It must be good to go, because he is your first new addition to the 2015 49ers defense this offseason.
Another benefit to having Dockett on the 49ers? Twitter antics. We love those here at BASG, and Dockett provides them. Perhaps you remember when he brought two phones into jury duty and ended up live tweeting the entire thing after they failed to take away his second phone. Or when he hit on A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend during the National Championship Game. Yes, we hope he keeps his Twitter game up in the home of the great social media giant, because let’s be honest — 140 characters are often more fun to write about than 40 times.
Now, the 49ers just have to wait out a decision from Justin Smith, the man Dockett will be either replacing or competing to play beside with Tank Carradine.
