Former Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown signs new deal with San Francisco 49ers

Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown inked a new deal this week to join the San Francisco 49ers on the 53-man roster, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter. Brown, who became a free agent in March, was on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad for the last few weeks before his release on Sept. 14.

The former sixth-round draft pick out of Purdue suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in December but he was a staple of the Cowboys defense for years.

He was playing on a three-year, $15.5 million deal that expired in March. As a sixth-round pick out of the 2016 draft, Brown initially signed a four-year rookie deal for $2.57 million.

The seventh-year corner had started every game for the Cowboys over the past two seasons, working opposite of Trevon Diggs and alternating with Kelvin Joseph.

Due to his injury, Brown ended the year with 39 tackles, six passes defended and one forced fumble. In 2021, he had three interceptions and 17 pass breakups, on top of 71 tackles. He has nine career interceptions and an additional one from the 2021 playoffs. He also had his first score for Dallas last season.

The former Boilermaker will face his former squad when the 49ers host the Cowboys for a Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 5. San Francisco ended Dallas’s playoff runs in each of the last two seasons.

49ers cornerbacks banged up in Week 2

The 49ers notched a big win on Sunday over the Rams but suffered injuries to two defensive backs in the process. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir exited the came to receive a concussion evaluation on Sunday and needs further clearance on Monday to return to practice.

Another cornerback, Ambry Thomas suffered a knee injury in the first half of Sunday’s game and never returned.

Star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk also suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday. He took a hard hit on his first catch of the day and had to miss plays on the way to the win.

Meanwhile, edge rusher Nick Bosa returned to full-go versus the Rams coming off of his contract holdout. He wasn’t on a snapcount for the Week 2 matchup and head coach Kyle Shanahan liked what he saw from Bosa.

“He’s getting back into football shape, getting back into his groove,” Shanahan said. “He got better and stronger throughout the game, similar to last week in that aspect. He finished the game really strong and took a step forward from Pittsburgh.”