The San Francisco 49ers are adding four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Matthew Judon to the practice squad, a move that reflects both the team’s sudden depth problem on the edge and Judon’s search for one more meaningful role late in a long career.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler first reported the agreement on Monday, noting that the 34-year-old could be elevated as soon as Week 4.
That timing is not accidental. Nick Bosa is expected to miss multiple games with a calf injury, first-round pick Mykel Williams remains on the reserve/PUP list while recovering from a torn ACL, and San Francisco has already been mixing practice-squad promotions and interior linemen on the edge.
After a 36-30 win over Arizona that left the 49ers 3-0, the club is trying to stay afloat until healthier bodies return.
Judon worked out in Santa Clara over the weekend alongside other free agents and then made his preference public, saying he believed he could help until the regulars came back.
There is also a scheme connection. Judon spent 2024 in Atlanta under Raheem Morris, now San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, and he has spoken warmly about defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.
Familiarity will not restore the player who posted 12.5 and 15.5 sacks in consecutive seasons with the Patriots, but it may shorten the learning curve if the 49ers need him on gameday quickly.
Judon’s path to this point has been winding. Baltimore drafted him in the fifth round out of Grand Valley State in 2016, and he became a four-time Pro Bowler after signing with New England in 2021.
A contract standoff led to a 2024 trade to Atlanta, where he finished with 5.5 sacks in 17 games. Miami signed him last August and waived him in December after a sackless stretch.
Buffalo briefly added him to the practice squad, and he appeared in one late-season game. Career totals still look impressive: 72 sacks in 145 games. The recent tape is thinner.
That is why this is a practice-squad signing rather than a splashy active-roster deal.
San Francisco is buying experience, leadership, and a known quantity in Morris’ front, not betting that Judon will suddenly look like 2022 again. If Bosa’s absence stretches and Williams stays on PUP, an early elevation would be a low-risk way to add a veteran who still wants to rush the passer.
If the starters return on schedule, Judon can still serve as insurance on a team that cannot afford another injury on the edge.
For a 3-0 club already stitching together its defensive line week to week, that kind of stopgap has value.
Judon is no longer a featured rusher, but he understands the assignment, knows the coaches, and arrives at a moment when San Francisco needs bodies more than headlines.
