The San Francisco 49ers have signed offensive tackle Charlie Heck off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, according to a report by Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. A five-year veteran who has made 21 career starts at offensive tackle will give the Niners some immediate offensive line depth after the unit was further depleted by injuries over the weekend.

From a football family, Heck’s father Andy had a decade-long playing career in the NFL and has been the offensive line coach with Kansas City since 2013. The younger Heck was a fourth-round pick by the Houston Texans back in 2020 out of North Carolina. In his second NFL campaign, Heck started 13 games at right tackle for Houston, but has otherwise been relegated to rotational backup duty throughout his career.

After playing out his rookie contract in Houston, Heck re-signed with the Texans, but was released prior to the start of the year. After clearing waivers and becoming a free agent, Heck joined the Cardinals practice squad. He was eventually promoted to the active roster, but was waived and rejoined the practice squad. He appeared in seven games with Arizona, making zero starts.

With so many injuries along the Niners offensive line, Heck could have an opportunity to get playing time quickly if the unit is further hit with injuries or there are some slower than expected recoveries. Either way, Heck could have a couple weeks to ingratiate himself with the coaching staff and potentially play his way into a backup role with the team down the line.