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49ers re-sign preseason standout in wake of Ronald Blair’s season-ending injury

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© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports


In the process of tackling Russell Wilson in the open field, Ronald Blair III tore his right ACL. While his name isn’t the flashiest on a star-studded line, he was a crucial part of the rotation, especially considering the fact that Dee Ford’s quad/knee tendinitis has limited the number of snaps he takes, mainly to third downs.

D.J. Jones also has a groin injury that’s being evaluated via an MRI, but the 49ers have had Jullian Taylor inactive for the past few games, and can replace Jones with him and increased snaps for Sheldon Day.

Yet, outside of Blair and Ford, the team has just Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead as its only real edge rushers, with Armstead often slotting inside. While Kentavius Street is on injured reserve, Kyle Shanahan described him Tuesday as more of an interior presence and said the team would be working out rushers on Wednesday, which included Damontre Moore, according to Matt Barrows.

The team signed Moore on Wednesday and placed Blair on season-ending injured reserve. Moore was a preseason standout, but comes with the baggage of previous arrests and a locker room dispute over headphones with the New York Giants.

The 49ers scouted Moore from the San Diego Fleet in the AAF, the same place they discovered tackle Daniel Brunskill. He led the AAF with 7.5 sacks and had the third-highest Pro Football Focus grade amongst edge rushers.

Moore registered at least four combined tackles in three of the four preseason games and had two sacks against the Kansas City Chiefs while playing with a “billy club,” as he called it, due to a dislocated left thumb. Moore had his first child, a son he named Sekani, born in the offseason, and said it changed his outlook to play for his son, rather than for himself. Unless any other additions are made, he’ll see plenty of playing time in replacing Blair.