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49ers DE Drake Jackson Vows to Play and Make an Impact in 2025

If Jackson can't make a full recovery, the 49ers might need to add an edge rusher, either in free agency or via trade.
Grant Cohn|
iAug 25, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Drake Jackson (95) points after the National Anthem prior to the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
iAug 25, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Drake Jackson (95) points after the National Anthem prior to the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers could have reinforcements on the way.

Drake Jackson, who tore the patellar tendon in his knee in November of 2023 and hasn't played since, posted on Instagram today that he vows to play in 2025.

"Y'all crazy if y'all think I'm not wrecking havoc on that field this year," Jackson wrote. "Boomerang to all the haters. I got God on my side. See y'all succas soon."

The 49ers drafted in Round 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft, so he's entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. Which means he has all the incentive in the world to play his best. Because if he has a good season, he could receive a big contract next offseason. Good pass rushers make lots of money.

Despite being a four-year veteran, Jackson just turned 24 in April -- he's younger than some rookies who just got drafted. So he should have the potential to improve if he can get healthy. And the 49ers will need an edge rusher if Mykel Williams moves to defensive tackle on third down like he did occasionally in college.

Jackson has a prime opportunity to carve out a role for himself as a third-down edge-rushing specialist, which is essentially what he was before he got injured two years ago. In 23 career games with the 49ers, he has zero starts and six sacks.

If Jackson can't make a full recovery, the 49ers might need to add an edge rusher, either in free agency or via trade.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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