The San Francisco 49ers ended the 2022 season as the NFL's No. 1 defense and, in one of their first moves during the NFL free agency period, further bolstered a defensive front anchored by Arik Armstead and AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa. On Thursday, the team signed a highly coveted free agent in Javon Hargrave to a four-year deal through the 2027 season. Hargrave heads to The Bay after spending the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hargrave is fresh off a Super Bowl LVII appearance and, most recently, faced off against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game at the end of January. The veteran defensive tackle contributed a sack, five tackles and a pass breakup to the Eagles 31-7 victory over San Francisco. Additionally, he was part of the league's top sack-producing defensive unit (70 total sacks) in 2022.
2022 Season Highlights
- Hargrave registered 60 tackles, a career-high 11.0 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, 10 tackles-for-loss, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in his 17 regular season starts.
- His 11.0 sacks ranked fourth amongst all NFL defensive tackles and were the most by an Eagles defensive tackle since Andy Harmon in 1993 (11.5).
- Hargrave (11.0 sacks) along with Haason Reddick (16.0 sacks), Brandon Graham (11.0 sacks) and Josh Sweat (11.0 sacks) combined to make Philadelphia the only team in the NFL since 1982 to have four players with 10-or-more sacks in a season.
- Set a single-game career high in sacks (3.0) against the Houston Texans in Week 9 and was the first Eagles defensive tackle to record 3.0 sacks in a game since Fletcher Cox during the 2018 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles Career Notes and Career Highs
- Hargrave was named to his first Pro Bowl following the conclusion of the 2021 season when he recorded the second most pressures (58, tied), third-most quarterback hits (18, tied) and sixth-most sacks (7.5) among all NFL defensive tackles.
- He set his career high in tackles (13) against the Washington Commanders in Week 10 of the 2022 season.
- He is a former third-round draft pick, selected by the Steelers in the 2016 NFL Draft.
