Latest news with #AndreDillard
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eagles Former Top Draft Signs With NFC Rival
The Philadelphia Eagles have built one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, but they have not kept all of the lineman that they have drafted. The reigning Super Bowl champions selected Washington State tackle Andre Dillard with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but he only played three seasons with them. He appeared in 43 games, but only started in nine, and the team decided to move on from him and release him. Advertisement He then signed with the Tennessee Titans where he spent one season, starting in 10 games. The Green Bay Packers then signed him after he was released again, and they also cut him after one season. Now, he is looking for a new start with the San Francisco 49ers, who signed him to a one-year deal on Friday. They already have the best tackle in football in Trent Williams, but he missed seven games in 2024 due to injury, so it is always good to have a backup. Some reported that Williams would be considering retirement this offseason, but Niners general manager John Lynch has confirmed that the 11-time Pro Bowler is "motivated", and will return to play for the team in 2025. Whether or not Williams remains healthy and plays the entire season, Dillard will remain ready and willing to back him up if the 49ers happen to call upon him. He will be looking to show that he was the 22nd pick in his draft for a reason. Related: Eagles Biggest NFC Threat A Prediction Shocker Related: Saleh 'Needed Therapy' In Move From Jets to 49ers
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eagles Draft Highlights Focus On Bizarre Tackle Situation
Former first round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles Andre Dillard has signed a free agent deal with the San Francisco 49ers. Dillard, the former 2019 top pick by the team, has bounced around the league after four seasons with the Eagles in more of a backup role. He struggled with the Tennessee Titans, and Green Bay Packers in the last two years. Advertisement The Washington State product has plenty of starting experience, but his struggles have also highlighted just how bizarre and lucky the Eagles have gotten with their left tackle position. When Dillard was taken with the 22nd overall pick in 2019, the Eagles were hoping he would be the eventual replacement to All-Pro star Jason Peters. Unbeknownst to anyone around the league, though, the seventh-round tackle from the prior draft would end up being the one who earned the spot, though. The arrival and development of Jordan Mailata is one of the biggest success stories in NFL history. Before being drafted by the Eagles in 2018, Mailata was a rugby star in Australia who had never played a down of the game of football. Philadelphia molded him like a bowl of clay into one of the best tackles in the league. By the time Mailata was ready to take the reins of the starting left tackle position, the Eagles had thrown away Dillard as a potential starter at all. Advertisement So what if he was a failed first round pick? The Eagles got the ultimate player at his position in the seventh round instead. And that is all that matters now. Especially with Dillard joining a conference rival like San Francisco. Related: Eagles Preaching Patience With Disappointing Edge Rusher Related: Eagles Make Irreplaceable Move Toward Super Bowl Repeat
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFC Team Signs 2 Former Titans Players
The Tennessee Titans have been completely overhauling their roster this offseason in the first year of the Mike Borgonzi experiment. He took over as the team's general manager after spending 16 seasons as an executive for the Kansas City Chiefs, and he is leaning on his winning experience to turn the Titans around. Borgonzi started the offseason by cutting dead weight from the roster and freeing up cap space, which he used to sign several young players at key positions of need. Then, he turned around and made nine selections in the 2025 NFL Draft and added a handful of stout undrafted free agents. Former Titans OL Nicholas Petit-Frère (78).Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports Several of the Titans' former players have found new homes this offseason, and on Friday, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that two more players had landed on their feet. Former Titans offensive linemen Nicholas Petit-Frere and Andre Dillard both signed one-year deals with the San Francisco 49ers. Advertisement Petit-Frere was considered a bust for the franchise after being selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He missed almost an entire season due to injury, and he dramatically underperformed when he was on the field. Dillard only spent one season with the team in 2023, and he performed well as a part-time starter. The Titans have invested heavily in improving their offensive line in recent seasons, and they have plenty of young talent. This made these players expendable in recent years, causing them to find a new home with the 49ers. Related: Titans Cut Ties With Veteran WR & LB Related: Titans Re-Sign Veteran Defender on One-Year Contract
New York Times
09-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
49ers' Mykel Williams makes strong rookie camp impression; team adds 2 more veteran OTs
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On a day when 51 players hit the field for rookie camp Friday, the real news for the San Francisco 49ers was back inside the building as they continued to address the biggest miss in their recent draft: the offensive line. The Niners signed seventh-year offensive tackle Andre Dillard, a 2019 first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, and former Tennessee Titans tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. This came a week after they signed veteran tackle D.J. Humphries. They can all foreseeably take a crack at right tackle Colton McKivitz's starting job or the swing tackle role after the 49ers didn't draft a tackle two weeks ago. Advertisement Among the moves the 49ers made to make room for Dillard and Petit-Frere was releasing defensive end Drake Jackson, the team's 2022 second-round pick. Jackson missed all of last season with a knee injury and recently failed a physical. He finishes with six sacks, an interception and nine pass breakups in 23 games. It was only a first impression on Friday, but Mykel Williams made it look like no one will remember Jackson's name. The first-round pick looked the part at 6 foot 5, 267 pounds and threw around tryout linemen and coaching assistants. (Defensive tackle Alfred Collins, the team's second-round pick, watched from the sidelines as he is getting over a minor calf injury.) When the team reconvenes in a couple of weeks for an organized workout, maybe Dillard and Petit-Frere will get a crack at Williams. Dillard (6-5, 315) was the No. 22 pick in 2019, but started only nine games in four seasons for the Eagles and missed the 2020 season with a torn biceps. The Titans gave him a three-year, $29 million deal because, hey, he was a high draft pick, only to move on a year later. Dillard spent last season as a backup in Green Bay. But beggars can't be too picky, and they also avoid analytics. Petit-Frere, 25, allowed 11 sacks last season and his 10 percent career pressure rate allowed is the second-highest among tackles with at least 500 pass-blocking snaps, per TruMedia. (Brock Purdy's ask in contract negotiations just went up.) The 49ers did draft another quarterback in the seventh round this year, but Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke is not all the way back from a knee injury and sat out Friday's proceedings. Tanner Mordecai, a practice squader last year out of Wisconsin, was QB1 for a day and he had some nice throws considering … he was the only one on the field who knew the plays. Advertisement Rourke, who along with a great run defense led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff, should be ready by training camp. Mordecai will have his hands full in the battle for the No. 3 spot behind Purdy and Mac Jones. Rourke 'is a big, strong thrower,' 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said on Thursday. 'A guy who stands in the pocket and goes through progressions and he's got a really good arm. So, all those things you look for as far as the talent. He was very, very tough. He played injured through this whole year. 'And so just all those things combined, the physical tools, the toughness, the leadership … he's a winner. We think we got a really good player.' Jordan James, the fifth-round pick out of Oregon, was the eighth running back drafted in a very deep class and also might be a really good player. He showed off some good hands at Friday's camp, as well as a nice burst. The same goes for undrafted free agent running back Corey Kiner out of Cincinnati. It's all baby steps for the 49ers right now, but this team needs its rookies to walk before they can run as it tries to bounce back from a 6-11 record. 'It's exciting to get just the injection of youth to go along with a lot of the veterans that we have on this football team,' defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. 'It's going to be fun to work with them.' (Top photo of Mykel Williams: Tony Avelar / Associated Press)
