That would explain why the 49ers went out and signed Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere — because D.J. Humphries was never officially a member of the 49ers
A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that the San Francisco 49ers and offensive tackle D.J. Humphries had reached an agreement. It’s not as if the report came out of thin air. It came from Humphries’ agency:
According to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, there was never an agreement between the two sides, and Humphries remains a free agent.
Perhaps the 49ers weren’t convinced that Humphries would regain his athleticism now that he’s 31 and a year removed from a torn ACL. Maiocco also said nothing is imminent between the 49ers and Humphries, suggesting he’ll remain a free agent.
That would also explain why the Niners signed Andre Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere shortly after the alleged signing of Humphries. One might make sense, but adding two tackles in addition to Humphries should’ve raised some eyebrows.
We won’t hear from Kyle Shanahan for some time, but we might get some questions answered about how this happens. Why would an agency report something like this and never walk it back if the deal never happened?
The 49ers didn’t officially announce Humphries like they did with Dillard or Petit-Frere. Neither the coaching staff nor players were ever asked about the signing, either. It’s a bizarre situation that doesn’t generally happen. We’ll provide any updates or information once we have them.