The San Francisco 49ers kicked off their second day of roster cuts with 17 players to move off of their roster in order to reach the 53-man requirement by Saturday's 1 p.m. PT deadline. The first reported player is defensive lineman Quinton Dial, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
Source: The #49ers have informed DL Quinton Dial of his release.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 2, 2017
The number of moves needed was 17 and not 18 because the 49ers are expected to place defensive back Don Jones on injured reserve after he reportedly suffered a torn ACL in Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In February of 2016, Dial signed a three-year extension with the 49ers that maxed out at $16.5 million over the contract and guaranteed him $5.3 million. He had been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.
While Dial is considered to be a talented player, there has been some concern surrounding how he fits within defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's new scheme on defense. Although, Dial remained confident that he could be a big contributor in 2017.
"My name will be said a lot in the fall," Dial told NBC Sports Bay Area in June. "I'm going to make my presence be known when the season gets here. That's the least of my worries, having the media talk about me. I know how hard I worked this offseason to get to where I'm at now."
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The 49ers have invested heavily in their defensive line having used their last three top draft picks on players to help revamp that unit. Arik Armstead was selected in 2015, DeForest Buckner in 2016, and Solomon Thomas this past April. Meanwhile, Dial had been primarily working behind Earl Mitchell during the offseason. Mitchell was among the new 49ers regime's first free agent signings and a player who general manager John Lynch was especially proud to acquire.
"Earl is a tone-setter who plays the game with a tremendous passion and the effort necessary to win in this league," Lynch said via a statement issued by the team following the signing. "We believe those qualities are contagious and will help to make our team stronger."
Dial, who is 27 years old, was selected out of Alabama by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has 126 tackles and 4.5 sacks over his career. In August of 2013, Dial was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list but played in three games making one tackle. In 2014, he played in 14 games making 30 tackles with two sacks and a pass defensed.
2015 was Dial's best career season. He started 15 games and had 59 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one pass defensed. He followed that up last year with just 36 tackles and two passes defensed in 11 starts and 14 appearances.
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