With defensive tackle Kalia Davis set to undergo surgery on his knee, the San Francisco 49ers signed veteran defensive tackle Nick Williams.
In addition to signing Williams to a one-year deal, the 49ers announced they released linebacker Ezekiel Turner.
Davis is expected to miss at least half of the 2024 regular season while he recovers from surgery. It’s unknown exactly how much time the Niners’ DT will miss.
Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins will start for San Francisco on the interior of the defensive line. Behind Hargrave and Collins, there’s Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, T.Y. McGill and Shakel Brown.
Considering his experience, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Williams should have little trouble carving out a rotational role for himself.
More About New San Francisco 49ers DT Signing Nick Williams
Williams, 34, entered the league as a seventh-round draft pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013. He started his 2014 season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, as well, before the Kansas City Chiefs signed him to their active roster.
He spent three seasons in Kansas City, playing 222 snaps on defense in that span. After not playing at all during the 2017 season, Williams was signed by the Chicago Bears in 2018, and he wound up having the best season of his career there.
He played in just two games for Chicago in 2018, but an injury to former Bears’ defensive tackle Akiem Hicks in 2019 gave Williams an opportunity to fill in, and he took advantage. In 16 games for Chicago that year (five starts), he finished with career highs in tackles (42), tackles-for-loss (5), quarterback hits (9) and sacks (6.0).
It was in Chicago where Williams first worked with current 49ers assistant head coach Brandon Staley, who served as the Bears’ linebackers coach at the time.
Williams’s strong 2019 campaign in Chicago led to a new deal with the Detroit Lions, where he started 30 games over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. His numbers fell off a bit with the Lions, as he amassed just six TFLs, five QB hits and 1.5 sacks in his two years as a starter.
Williams has played rotational roles over the last two seasons. He was with the New York Giants in 2022, playing in eight games (seven starts) while seeing the field for 45% of New York’s defensive snaps.
In 2023, Williams landed with the Los Angeles Chargers. He appeared in 14 games (six starts), playing 42% of the Chargers’ defensive snaps.
49ers DC Nick Sorensen to DT Group: ‘Show Us What You Have’
49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen was asked about how his unit will replace Davis, who had been playing well up until his injury.
“Now it’s the next man up, just like any position,” Sorensen said on August 14. “It’s their opportunity to show us what you have. You have two more weeks, two more preseason games. And as good as Kalia was doing, let’s see someone else step up, be that consistent. How fast can I grow in this system and do it the right way and be aggressive? … I think they’re competing and it’s a competitive group. I think, really on all three levels, it’s really competitive.”
As for Davis, the team expects him to be available in the latter half of the season. “We plan on Kalia being around here and we plan on him coming back and helping us this year,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said on August 12.
In the meantime, Williams should be a solid replacement.
