Former Ole Miss defensive lineman Breeland Speaks signs one-year deal with 49ers
OXFORD, Miss. — Former Ole Miss defensive lineman Breeland Speaks, a 2018 second-round pick, is back in the NFL as the San Francisco 49ers announced his addition on Friday.
He has signed a one-year deal with the team.
Speaks was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, and he played in 16 games for the team during his rookie season. He notched 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery over the course of the campaign.
The #49ers signed the #XFL sack leader, DL Breeland Speaks to a one-year deal.
(via: @RapSheet)@XFL2023 @Bspeaks9
— The Athletes Plug (@TheAthletesPlug) August 11, 2023
Speaks spent the following season on injured reserve and was one of the team’s final preseason cuts in 2020. Over the course of the next two seasons, he spent time with the Raiders, Cowboys, Giants, and Bills but made no other regular season appearances.
The USFL’s Michigan Panthers signed Speaks last December, and he responded with a monster season — recording 53 total tackles, nine sacks, six tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one pass deflection. His nine sacks were enough to lead the USFL in total sacks.
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.