Robert Saleh Builds San Francisco 49ers Defense With Ex New York Jets Players originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The San Francisco 49ers cannot stop adding players that have previous playing experience with the New York Jets.
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It starts with the re-hiring of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. General manager John Lynch brought Saleh back to the Bay Area to assume the position he previously held with the 49ers from 2017-2020.
The fours years since his first 49ers stint have mainly been in the Big Apple as the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021-2024. Saleh was fired by the Jets last year after a 2-3 start to the season. He then spent some time as an offensive consultant with the Green Bay Packers.
Now Saleh and new 49ers special teams coordinator Brant Boyer (the Jets special teams coordinator from 2016-2024) have gone back to the well and swiped multiple players from their former team.
The duo started by acquiring former New Orleans Saints Super Bowl hero and NFL veteran punter Thomas Morstead, who spent the last two seasons with the Jets.
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The signing came after the 49ers made a surprising cut of punter Mitch Wishnowsky who reportedly had no injury issues.
“You don’t know how those things go, and you’ve got to take the risk-reward and something that to me wasn’t a big risk or worth the risk until someone like Morstead becomes available,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “And that put us on where we needed to make a decision.”
The next former Jet to travel west is linebacker Chazz Surratt who has spent the last three of his four NFL seasons in New York.
Surratt, a former third-round pick in 2021, played in all 17 games last season and made the first five starts of his career. He mostly played on special teams, finishing the season with 28 total tackles (two for loss).
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He projects as a swiss army knife on special teams because of his undersized build and great speed as a linebacker.
Last but certainly not least comes edge rusher Bryce Huff.
Huff was acquired by the Niners in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles this week. Philly’s investment in Huff is often looked at as one of their team’s worst moves in recent memory after an underwhelming 2024 season.
However, back in 2023 as a member of, you guessed it, the New York Jets, Huff registered 10.0 sacks for his head coach Saleh.
Adding Huff for just $8 million on this year’s cap should do wonders for a defensive line that also features star Nick Bosa and first-round rookie Mykel Williams … if he can return to top form.
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Saleh is proving that he still has confidence in the un-drafted defensive end can.
Under Saleh, the 49ers defense reached a peak of third-best in the NFL in points and yards differential in 2019.
With Saleh as a head coach, the Jets defense was ranked as high as No. 18 and No. 14 in those respective stats in 2022.
They may have a bunch of their former players, but 49ers fans better hope Robert Saleh’s defense in San Francisco plays better than his did in New York.
Related: 49ers Receive Early Grade for Bryce Huff Trade
Related: Mykel Williams Excited to Learn From Two 49ers Mentors
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
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