San Francisco 49ers Sign Defensive Tackle, Cut Former First Round Pick

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Michael Dwumfour looks on before the start of a Jets preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles on August 27, 2021.

On August 7, 2025, the San Francisco 49ers announced they signed defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour and released cornerback Eli Apple in a corresponding move.

Dwumfour, 27, worked out for the 49ers on Wednesday August 6, 2025 alongside three other free agent defensive tackles: Shakel Brown, Siaki Ika and Pheldarius Payne.

Apple, 29, just signed with the 49ers a week and a half ago, on July 28, 2025. He’ll be in search of an eighth NFL team in his 10th year in the NFL.

The 49ers have seen a lot of roster turnover in recent days due to injuries at key positions. Dwumfour will aim to help an inexperienced and unproven 49ers DT unit navigate Kevin Givens’s injury.

A Deep Dive On Michael Dwumfour

Michael Dwumfour was a three-star collegiate prospect out of DePaul Catholic High School. He committed to the University of Michigan after racking up 55 tackles and 7 sacks as a senior at DePaul.

Dwumfour’s best season for the Wolverines was his junior year in 2018. He played in all 13 games with 12 starts and had 21 tackles, 3 sacks and 1 interception on the season.

For his final collegiate season in 2020, Dwumfour transferred to Rutgers and earned Honorable Mention All-Big-Ten in the COVID-impacted season.

He went undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft but signed an undrafted free agent contract with the New York Jets.

Since 2021, he’s had stints with six different NFL franchises and made regular season appearances with four of them. All told, Dwumfour has appeared in 13 games (1 start) and has made 13 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack and a fumble recovery.

He even had a prior stint with the 49ers, which likely factored into his return to San Francisco. Dwumfour spent part of the 2022 season with the 49ers, appearing in 2 games, making 2 tackles and recovering a fumble.

Dwumfour was also the logical pick for the 49ers out of the group of defensive players they worked out because he was the only one with an NFL start under his belt.

Obviously, he must have impressed the 49ers coaching staff with his tryout as well.

Dwumfour will immediately compete to be a rotational piece in a 49ers DT room that has no clear stars.

What’s Next For Eli Apple?

Eli Apple’s quick release from the 49ers is one that is going to make headlines.

Apple was a first round pick in 2016 who seemed to have what it took to be a future star for the New York Giants, the team that drafted him.

But Apple was a difficult personality for the New York locker room to deal with throughout his career, and to make matters worse, he underperformed on the field.

After lasting so little time with the 49ers, many NFL fans will surmise that his NFL career could be over.

But Apple is still only 29 years old, and training camp is always a period with a lot of roster turnover. One key injury and Apple is on to the next destination of his highly-publicized journey.

It’s not unlikely that the 49ers eventually bring him back themselves.

What do you think of the Michael Dwumfour signing, 49ers fans? Will he make the 49ers roster this season?

What about Eli Apple? Would you like the 49ers to bring him back if the roster allows later in the preseason?

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for heavy.com. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman