The San Francisco 49ers thought they had a deal with linebacker Eric Kendricks in free agency, but he reneged on the agreement, instead opting to sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

It seemed like a rather strange move given that the 49ers had just been to the Super Bowl while the Cowboys were routed in the Wild Card Round.

Why pass up a better opportunity to compete for a championship?

Well, Kendricks explained himself this week, saying that it really all came down to playing time.

“I think I would’ve taken more of a reserve role [in San Francisco], whereas I feel I have a lot left to give and I wanted to be here and be middle linebacker,” Kendricks said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “I wanted to share my experience with the team, share my leadership abilities and command that huddle.”

But is that really the case?

It’s important to note that San Francisco lost fellow linebacker Dre Greenlaw to a torn Achilles in the Super Bowl, so Kendricks surely would have seen plenty of action with the Niners.

Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that Kendricks thinks the Cowboys represented a superior landing spot for him, and the 49ers will just have to accept that.

Kendricks spent the 2023 campaign with the Los Angeles Chargers, playing in 15 games and registering 117 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and six passes defended.

The 32-year-old was originally selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft and spent the first eight years of his career there, making the Pro Bowl while also earning a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2019.

We’ll see if Kendricks can bring some moxie to Dallas’ linebacking corps next season.

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