Player Profiles

HC Kyle Shanahan says that he expects LB Kwon Alexander to start on the weak side this year, next to Fred Warner and ahead of Dre Greenlaw. “We compete all the time, so no one just has a job set in stone, but I don't see that as open competition right now,” Shanahan said after Saturday's practice, according to NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco. “We brought Kwon here for a reason. He did exactly what we wanted when he was out there and did even more than we anticipated from a leadership standpoint. Kwon has been great here.” Alexander signed a big free-agent contract last offseason coming off an ACL tear and then tore a pectoral muscle in Week 9 of last year. That allowed Greenlaw to step into a starting role and perform well, including the signature stop of Seahawks TE Jacob Hollister that clinched the NFC West title and homefield advantage for the 49ers. This season, though, Greenlaw will need another injury to Alexander or Warner if he's to see enough snaps to be an IDP factor.

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The 49ers on Friday activated LB Kwon Alexander (pectoral) from IR. He is expected to play today against the Vikings. NBC Sports Bay Area reports that Alexander's fill-in, rookie Dre Greenlaw, will continue to play a key role. It's not yet clear which guy will start and how much each will play. Fred Warner looks like the only San Francisco ILB who should be in your IDP lineups if you're setting those today. With Alexander back and DE Dee Ford potentially back (he's questionable after missing basically the past 6 games), the Niners' defense on whole could be at its strongest in weeks.

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Niners LB Kwon Alexander tore a pectoral muscle in Thursday night's game against the Cardinals and will miss the rest of the season, according to multiple reports. HC Kyle Shanahan said Friday that rookie Dre Greenlaw will step into Alexander's spot, according to Niners Nation.

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Niners LB Kwon Alexander got kicked out in the 1st half of Sunday's game against the Buccaneers after delivering a blow to the head of QB Jameis Winston, a former teammate. We'll see if the incident affects Alexander's availability for Week 2.

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NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the 49ers have reached a 4-year, $54 million deal with LB Kwon Alexander. They can't finalize the contract until Wednesday afternoon. Alexander will join a LB corps that saw rookie Fred Warner play mostly on the inside last year. We'd bet on Alexander taking over the middle, though, and Warner playing the weak side. There's room for both to produce quality IDP numbers. Alexander is coming off a left ACL tear, but the new contract indicates little concern over his recovery. We'll certainly keep an eye on his progress through the spring and summer. We'll also see whether the Bucs stick with 2018 rookie Adarius Taylor at MLB or go in another direction.

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