It didn’t take long for recently-released 49ers defensive end Pita Taumoepenu to find a home. He landed with one of San Francisco’s NFC West rivals, the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona had top waiver priority and used it to scoop up the former sixth-round pick out of Utah.
Taumoepenu played in only six games in two seasons for the 49ers, including just 21 defensive snaps – all coming last season.
The 25-year-old couldn’t crack the 49ers’ edge rush rotation last season and wasn’t going to carve out time with their added depth at that position this offseason. San Francisco cut ties with him after adding cornerback Dontae Johnson.
Arizona didn’t get a ton of productivity on the edges last season outside of their sack leader Chandler Jones. He had 13 sacks. The next-highest total from a defensive end was Benson Mayowa with 4.0.
New Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will transition the team to a 3-4, which will give Taumoepenu the opportunity to rush the passer from a standup outside linebacker spot – a departure from the hand-in-the-dirt defensive end role he played with the 49ers.
