49ers plan to make free agent decision on DT who started every game in 2025

49ers plan to make free agent decision on DT who started every game in 2025 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The San Francisco 49ers have some work to do this offseason on both sides of the ball, but especially the interior of the defensive line.

Nick Bosa is great, but the 49ers need a lot more production from their defensive line. Part of that has to do with the starters in 2025 not performing up to par.

One of those starters, a third-year defensive tackle drafted in the sixth round by the 49ers, is likely on his way out, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

49ers plan to cut ties with 17-game starting DT

"Sources: the 49ers are not planning to tender DT Kalia Davis as an RFA," Schultz reports. "He will now become a free agent."

Kalia Davis is a 6-foot-2, 310-pound interior defensive lineman who was the 220th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the 49ers.

He only played in three games through the first two years since being drafted, but appeared in 13 games in 2024, recording 12 tackles, one pass defended, and an interception.

But in 2025, Davis was an every-game starter for the 49ers and Robert Saleh's defense. He had three passes defended, just a 0.5 sack, and 28 combined tackles with four tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.

More: 49ers named best fit for ex-Eagles, Steelers top-5 offensive guard in free agency

He generated four pressures on defense, on 492 snaps for the 49ers this past season. While he played just 45% of the snaps on defense, he was the starter all season long.

His pass-rush production wasn't good enough, and was part of the reason why the 49ers finished the year with 20 sacks, three fewer than one player, Myles Garrett, had this past season.

Davis is now hitting free agency, as the 49ers are moving on from a 27-year-old interior defensive lineman out of Central Florida. He'll be a free agent if the 49ers stick to this plan, and will likely join a new team this offseason.

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