Report: 49ers are training four offensive linemen despite tackle injuries

Report: 49ers coach four offensive linemen due to tackle injuries originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 49ers appear to be looking for reinforcements for their struggling offensive line.

San Francisco worked out offensive linemen Austen Pleasants, David Sharpe, Zack Johnson and Jaylen Mayfield on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reported, citing a league source.

Even though the 49ers’ 2024 NFL season is all but lost, they still need to field a team for their final three games – and the tackle position is becoming increasingly scarce.

Star left tackle Trent Williams, who is dealing with an ankle injury, has not played since the 49ers’ Week 11 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 17. And his replacement, Jaylon Moore, didn’t practice Monday because of an undisclosed injury as San Francisco held a bonus session, but he was seen working on the side.

Pleasants entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and completed practice squad stints with five different NFL teams while appearing in two regular season games. Sharpe, a former fourth-round draft pick in 2017, has appeared in 46 games with six starts in six NFL seasons.

Zack Johnson won the 2024 United Football League championship with the Birmingham Stallions before signing with the Cleveland Browns in July, who waived him in August. He appeared in an NFL game.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the four is Mayfield, a former third-round pick who started 16 games at left guard for the Atlanta Falcons during his 2021 rookie season. While he played on the New York Giants’ practice squad during the 2023 season, he was retired in the preseason finale Suffered an ankle injury in 2024 and was released.

The 49ers could sign one of these four linemen to their practice squad ahead of their Week 16 game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

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