The San Francisco 49ers Made The Right Move Signing Kwon Alexander

Did John Lynch make a mistake signing Kwon Alexander? The former Pro Bowl selection signed a 4-year $54 million dollar deal with the San Fransisco 49ers. This will make him the highest paid Inside Linebacker in the NFL. The reaction to this move seems to be a bit negative.

You’re getting a great ILB with Alexander. Do the 49ers really know what they’ve gotten themselves into. Alexander is coming off a torn ACL. He suffered the injury during 2018 season. It’s a risk for San Fransisco to sign him given the circumstances. Still, with his talent, it’s damn near stupid not to take a chance.

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Ever since entering the league, Kwon Alexander has been busting his ass to prove he was one of the best linebackers in the league. In 2016, he recorded 145 tackles (108 of which were solo). In fact, Alexander’s first three years in the NFL saw him record 90+ tackles. He was well on his way to a another 90+ season in 2018, then the injury bug struck.

Aside from the injury risk, why does this signing come with so much hesitation. Alexander, through 2015-17, has 70.2 missed tackles on defense. That’s the most in the NFL during that span. While Alexander might seem invincible on the field, he’s not without issues. Given this statistic, did Lynch and the 49ers make a mistake signing Alexander?

No.

With Kwon Alexander’s on the field issues, there are some things to be concerned about. However, you don’t find linebackers that play as hard as Alexander. Despite his missed tackle opportunities, he still recorded 335 tackles over his first 3 seasons. You can’t argue with that type of production.

The bigger concern with Alexander will be his return from the torn ACL. Will he be the same player from his first 3 seasons and first half of the 2018 campaign? That’s where things get a bit tricky. Despite the recovery from the ACL tear, San Francisco didn’t make a mistake signing Kwon Alexander.

John Lycnh indeed made the right move. It’ll be rather interesting to see how he bounces back from the surgery. And if there are no complications, the missed tackles shouldn’t be a massive concern. Alexander is just too damn good elsewhere to justify this as a bad signing.

Image Source: Cliff Welch/PR