The 49ers' linebacker room added a familiar face to NFL fans on Wednesday when they came to terms with former Minnesota Vikings star Eric Kendricks on a one-year deal.
Kendricks (6-0, 232) spent eight seasons with the Vikings after being selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of UCLA. He spent last season with the Los Angeles Chargers after being let go by the Vikings in March of 2023. Kendricks, 32, has a total of 1036 career tackles, 18.5 sacks, 57 passes defensed, nine interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), five forced fumbles, and six fumble recoveries.
Kendricks comes to the 49ers as a successful and respected player on and off the field. He'll be able to provide some relief to the linebacker unit while Dre Greenlaw heals from the torn Achilles tendon he sustained in Super Bowl LVIII.
Here's a rundown of what to know about Kendricks as he comes to the 49ers.
49ers connections, and what to expect
Kendricks' brother Mychal, who had a 10-year NFL career of his own, had multiple brief stints with the 49ers in 2021. Mychal was first signed to the roster in training camp of that year but was later released with an injury settlement after coming down with turf toe. Mychal re-signed with the 49ers later in the season but never played in a game. His last NFL playing time came with Washington in 2020.
Since Kendricks played with the Chargers last season, he has an obvious connection with new 49ers assistant head coach Brandon Staley, who served as the Chargers' head coach from 2021 to 2023. Kendricks has played three regular-season games against the 49ers, including his NFL debut in 2015. He had 11 tackles and one forced fumble in those games and also had an interception off quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in a 27-10 loss to the 49ers in the 2019 Divisional Playoff round.
Kendricks was once considered a top-of-the-line player at his position, with his peak coming in 2019 when he was named first-team All-Pro following a season that saw him total 110 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and 12 pass breakups. But while Kendricks was once praised for his pass coverage, some evaluations have found fault in that area in recent years. Kendricks had a productive season for the Chargers in 2023, totaling 117 tackles and 3.5 sacks with six passes broken up before being released earlier this month on a cost-cutting move. He carried an overall grade of 72.6 at Pro Football Focus last season.
Accolades
Kendricks was a standout athlete at Hoover High School in Fresno as a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball. He played linebacker, quarterback, running back, kicker, and punter for his football team and was an All-league performer in basketball and baseball.
At UCLA, Kendricks played in 52 games after redshirting as a freshman, starting 41, and totaled 476 tackles with 10 sacks and 26 tackles for loss. During the 2014 season, Kendricks racked up 145 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and five sacks and was named a second-team All-American. Kendricks captured the Butkus Award that season, given annually to the top linebacker in college football, as well as the yearly Lott IMPACT trophy, given annually to a player who demonstrates high personal character as well as athletic excellence.
A competitive but fruitful sibling rivalry
Kendricks was raised primarily by a single mother, Yvonne Thagon, while his father Marvin dealt with an addiction to crack cocaine. But Marvin was able to clean up his addiction later in life and became re-acquainted with his family.
"I would take my kids with me to drug houses," Marvin Kendricks told the Los Angeles Times in 2014. "I have cried so many nights about those mistakes."
One thing that the Kendricks family bonded over was football. Marvin was a college player at UCLA, where he led the team in rushing in 1970 and 1971. His sons Eric and Mychal picked up that ability and eventually turned it into lucrative professional careers. There were some bumps and bruises in the house long before that happened due to the competitiveness that came from the two brothers.
"You see this little scar below my eye?" Eric told the L.A. Times in 2014. "Mychal. He threw something at me. I got another one on the back of my head. He pushed me down on the road."
Mychal said, "Eric knocked out my front teeth … twice. He took a rock and beaned me. He did the same thing a couple years later. He had a great arm, real pinpoint accuracy."
The Kendricks brothers learned their work ethic from Thagon while watching her work long hours.
"Raising four kids by herself, working double shifts. She made sure something good would happen," Mychal told Yahoo Sports in 2018. "She made us wake up at 5:30 to go to 'zero' period so we could work out before school and save money on breakfast. I hated it, but now I really think about those moments. Learning how to wake up, be on time and put in the work when everyone else was asleep. She taught us that."
Mychal has been described as the more athletic and hard-hitting of the Kendricks brothers while Eric was the cerebral one. But Eric, being the younger of the two, was able to learn from Mychal and one-up him in many ways.
"They've always challenged each other," Marvin told Yahoo Sports. "But whatever Mychal does, Eric does it better. They really like to help each other and share insight. They used to go toe-to-toe playing basketball, pushing each other really hard. But it was all love."
Highly charitable
Kendricks has a genuine love of helping community causes and is known for doing so without any media attention. He's been a finalist for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award and was involved in a number of causes in Minnesota, ranging from his team's social justice initiative to organizing a holiday turkey handout.
Kendricks was popular among Vikings fans, who were saddened when he and the team parted ways. One local restaurant added a sandwich to their menu in his honor -- "The Kendricks" sandwich, which consisted of a French toast bagel with brown sugar bacon, fluffy eggs, strawberry jam, and sharp cheddar cheese.
An automotive hobby
One thing Kendricks likes to get involved with away from football is his love for cars. Kendricks owns a number of vehicles, ranging from his grandfather's 1995 Dodge Viper that he plans on maintaining for years to come to his Porsche GT3 RS, which was the dream car he purchased after earning his second NFL contract.
"That's like my big boy toy," Kendricks told NBC Sports Bay Area in 2023.
Not surprisingly, Kendricks has found ways to turn his love for cars into helping the community. Just after his release from the Chargers, Kendricks came together with Bridgestone and Acceler8 to donate tire installation and car service to eight Los Angeles families.
"I feel like tires are a very needed thing, but you don't like to always spend money on them," Kendricks told the LA Sentinel. "It's good that we're giving away some tires and some car service so they can drive around healthy."