Player Profiles

Saints LB Kwon Alexander tore the Achilles' tendon in his right leg in Friday's win over the Vikings. That obviously ends his season, and the late-December timing figures to threaten his start to 2021. The final 2 years remaining on his contract look expensive and cuttable. So we'll see what the offseason holds for this 26-year-old, whom the Saints acquired via trade in November. LB Alex Anzalone replaced Alexander against Minnesota and figures to return to the starting lineup the rest of the way.

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The 49ers are trading LB Kwon Alexander to the Saints for LB Kiko Alonso and a conditional 5th-round pick, according to multiple reports. Alexander has missed the past 2 games with a high-ankle sprain but should be back soon. San Francisco HC Kyle Shanahan said originally that the team believed it to be a "minor" sprain. Alexander should join Demario Davis in playing full-time snaps, likely sapping playing time from LB Alex Anzalone. We'll keep an eye on Alexander to see when he'll officially jump into the lineup. A healthy Alexander enhances the upside of the New Orleans team defense. The Niners, meanwhile, can now keep LB Dre Greenlaw in his full-time role alongside Fred Warner. He has seen increased playing time with Alexander out.

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Niners HC Kyle Shanahan said this week that LB Kwon Alexander suffered what the team believes to be a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins. "They're not sure of the severity of it," he said. "It could be a minor one for whatever that means." Alexander didn't miss any of the game, but he did miss Wednesday's 1st practice of Week 6. We'd have to bet on him at least missing this Sunday night's game against the Rams, which should mean near-full playing time for LB Dre Greenlaw. We'll keep an eye on the situation this week.

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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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