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Clelin Ferrell has lived every side of the NFL spectrum — top-five draft pick, rotational lineman, full-time starter, roster cut, practice-squad hopeful, and now, redemption story. Last Sunday inside Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, OH, the former Clemson standout delivered the type of performance that reminded everyone why he once headlined the Tigers’ famed “Power Rangers” defensive front.
Ferrell posted a team-high nine tackles and two sacks in the 49ers’ 26–8 win over the Cleveland Browns, a timely breakout for a San Francisco defense desperate for answers in the pass rush.
After the game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t hide his appreciation for the 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end, who started all 17 games for the Niners in 2023 before a knee injury sidelined him during the Super Bowl run.
"He's done a hell of a job. I mean, we loved having [Ferrell] here a couple of years ago when we had him. Since his first day here, he's been the same guy. He's given us a lot of juice when we've been down."
Ferrell’s path back to the 49ers was anything but linear.
Originally selected fourth overall by the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders in 2019, his early career never fully met the expectations that come with a top-five pick. After three uneven seasons with the Raiders and a 2024 stint in Washington, he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers to begin this season, only to be released on Oct. 14 after playing in just one game.
For the first time in his football life, Ferrell found himself unemployed.
Opportunity returned on Oct. 29 when the 49ers, short-handed and struggling defensively, signed him to their practice squad. San Francisco had only nine sacks at the time, tied for 30th in the league. Nick Bosa was lost for the season after tearing his ACL in Week 3, and Bryce Huff was battling a hamstring issue.
Ferrell wasn’t just a depth signing; he was a necessity.
And he wasted no time. In his first game on the active roster, he registered a sack and three tackles in a win over the Giants and former Power Ranger Dexter Lawrence.
“It’s not about, so much enjoying it. It’s just not taking it for granted,” Ferrell stated after the win over the Giants, reflecting on how much the opportunity meant to him. “Like you said, a lot of guys, when you can be off a team and be back in a locker room, you can kind of soak in the moment… but we’re in the middle of a season. We’re trying to win a Super Bowl. So my biggest thing is to do everything I can to help these guys.”
After Sunday’s breakout, he’s now tied with Huff for the team lead in sacks (4) despite playing in only four games to Huff’s 11.
Ferrell is 28 now, and in a career crossroads few expected this early. There were questions about whether he’d ever regain the form he flashed at Clemson, when he starred alongside Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, and Austin Bryant in the Tigers’ “Power Rangers” front — one of the most dominant defensive lines of the playoff era.
There were questions about whether he’d get another chance at all.
Ferrell’s answer has been consistency and humility.
“For me, it’s just not taking it for granted,” he said after Sunday’s win. “When I came back, this team was right in the thick of it. The biggest reason why I came back here was because I wanted to win… I’m just thankful for my teammates, coaches, everybody in the building who helped me get prepared and be ready for the moment.”
But is the veteran peaking?
“We shall see, right?" he answered with a grin. "I’m just trying to stick to my process. At the end of the day, if you focus on results, you always let yourself down. Just focus on the process, and I think the process really paid off today.”
San Francisco enters its bye week at 9–4, winners of three straight and holding a game-and-a-half edge over the Lions for the NFC’s No. 7 seed with five weeks remaining. The defense is still banged up, but Ferrell has become one of its most important — and unexpected — contributors.
