The 49ers declined to tender restricted free agent Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles Wednesday. That allowed DFF to become an unrestricted free agent. The thought was he’d follow the rest of the free agent 49ers to either the Titans or the Texans.
Instead, Flannigan-Fowles returns to the 49ers on a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. DFF was a big part of the 49ers special teams units last season, where he played 325 snaps.
This year, he has a chance to start at linebacker next to Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw now that Azeez Al-Shaair is no longer in the fold.