49ers Re-Sign DL Willis
The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have re-signed DL Jordan Willis to a one-year deal.
The 49ers originally acquired Willis (6-4, 270) in a trade with the New York Jets on October 27, 2020. Over the last two seasons with San Francisco, he has appeared in 17 games and tallied 28 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble in addition to three postseason appearances where he added four tackles. In 2021, Willis finished with 15 tackles, a career-high 3.0 sacks and one forced fumble in 10 games played and also recorded a blocked punt in San Francisco’s NFC Divisional win against the Green Bay Packers on special teams.
Willis was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. During his five-year career with the Bengals (2017-19), Jets (2019-20) and 49ers, he has appeared in 60 games (two starts) and registered 80 tackles, 8.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one pass defensed.
A 26-year-old native of Kansas City, MO, Willis attended Kansas State University (2013-16) where he appeared in 48 games (39 starts) and finished with 114 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss, 26.0 sacks and seven forced fumbles. As a senior in 2016, he earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors after registering 52 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.