49ers waive former first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche

As the San Francisco 49ers continue to make roster moves in preparation for the start of the 2022 season, the team has announced it is parting ways with a former first-round pick. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, San Francisco has waived former first-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2016 NFL Draft Robert Nkemdiche.

The 49ers brought in Nkemdiche in late July on a one-year deal. But unfortunately for the former Ole Miss Rebel, he finds himself looking for a new home after being a part of San Francisco’s roster cut to 85 players.

Nkemdiche spent last season with the Seattle Seahawks after battling to make the team during last year’s preseason. He recorded 15 tackles, seven solo, a pass deflection, and one hit on the opposing quarterback in nine games with the Seahawks.

As for the 49ers, they still have two more upcoming roster cuts. The next one follows their second preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, where the team will have to drop down to 80 players. And the last one is the infamous cut down to the league maximum 53-man roster for the start of the regular season.

Nkemdiche’s early years

Nkemdiche is the first-round selection of the Arizona Cardinals back in the 2016 NFL Draft, taken with the 29 pick. However, he was hardly in the rotation for the Cardinals in the three years he spent with the team. Out of those three years, he played in 27 of 48 possible games, and he recorded just six starts. He concluded his time in Arizona recording 26 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four and a half sacks, two pass deflections two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery, which he ran back 21 yards for a touchdown.

After the Cardinals waived him in 2019 with a failed physical destination, Nkemdiche signed with the Miami Dolphins on a one-year deal. He started the season on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) after having knee surgery in the offseason. Unfortunately, his time with the Dolphins would be short-lived. He appeared in just two games for Miami and was waived by them in November of that year. He would then go on to be suspended by the league for two weeks shortly after being released

In 2020, he was unable to find work in the NFL. Nkemdiche was unable to secure a spot on any roster but did find a home with the Seahawks for the 2021 season but did not return to Seattle for 2022.