In free agency, it's never official until it's official.

The San Francisco 49ers were reminded of that the hard way on Wednesday. San Francisco had been reported as agreeing to a one-year deal with former All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks, giving them an insurance policy after Dre Greenlaw's Achilles injury in Super Bowl 58.

But they then fell victim to a plot twist, as NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Kendricks had, after a change of heart, decided to sign for the Dallas Cowboys instead.

It may seem a bizarre decision by Kendricks given the 49ers' recent dominance over the Cowboys, including a 42-10 shellacking of Dallas in Week 5 last season.

However, the Cowboys new defensive coordinator is Mike Zimmer, the former longtime Minnesota Vikings head coach. Zimmer was head coach when Kendricks was drafted in 2015 and they worked together for seven seasons.

That familiarity understandably would appear to trump that of Kendricks with 49ers assistant head coach Brandon Staley, who was his head coach with the Los Angeles Chargers for 14 games last season.

So the 49ers now have to go back to the drawing board at linebacker. While Kendricks  came with concerns about his play in coverage last season, he is a strong pass-rushing linebacker and impressive tackler, an area in which the 49ers struggled down the stretch in 2023.

Though the reasoning for his decision may be understandable, 49ers fans will take a dim view of a player turning them down to sign for the Cowboys. If these historic rivals meet again in next season's playoffs, Kendricks' presence in the game will be an intriguing subplot.

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