SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ Add linebacker Kwon Alexander to the 49ers' risky infatuation with players coming off anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
Alexander, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reportedly secured a free agency bonanza Monday and will join Jimmy Garoppolo and Jerick McKinnon in ACL comebacks this season on the 49ers.
The 49ers guaranteed $24 million to Alexander in a four-year, $54 million deal, ESPN reported. The 49ers did not confirm the deal, which can't be formalized until Wednesday when the new league year opens.
Alexander, 24, tore the ACL in his left knee Oct. 21. Once healthy, Alexander figures to line up at inside linebacker next to Fred Warner, a 16-game starter last year as a rookie.
Alexander led the NFL with 108 solo tackles in 2016. He was a 2015 fourth-round pick out of LSU and produced over 90 tackles his first three seasons while totaling six interceptions, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a Buc.
Simply put, a healthy Alexander has been a speedy play-maker, something the 49ers desperately need after producing only seven takeaways last season.
One of Alexander's marquee games with the Buccaneers came as a rookie, when his two takeaways and 11 tackles keyed an overtime win at Atlanta only two days after his brother, Broderick, was shot and killed in their native Alabama. That rookie season ended with Alexander serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.
Alexander's career in Tampa began under then-coach Lovie Smith, who was a Buccaneers assistant while John Lynch was forging his star-studded career. Lynch is entering his third year as the 49ers general manager.
If there is any franchise in sports that hasn't shied away from ACL recoveries, it's the 49ers, especially over the past six drafts in which they've selected eight players coming off ACL tears.
Defensive tackle Kentavius Street, a fourth-round pick last year, was the most recent ACL draft gamble and he's set to make his NFL debut this season. Under former general manager Trent Baalke, the 49ers didn't get favorable results from his seven ACL-comeback picks, those being Tank Carradine, Marcus Lattimore, Brandon Thomas, Keith Reaser, Trey Millard, DeAndre Smelter and Will Redmond.
The 49ers' fortunes last season took a turn for the worse when McKinnon tore his ACL a week before the opener and Garoppolo followed suit in Week 3.
Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Reuben Foster packed plenty of star power into the 49ers linebacker position the past decade. They're all gone, and Bowman spent last season unemployed after his career got derailed by an ACL tear five years earlier.
Now the 49ers are hoping Alexander can rally and revive that position next to Warner, who showed flashes last season as a rookie starter.
Alexander's contract averages to $13.5 million per year, surpassing the Carolina Panthers' Luke Kuechly ($12.4 million) as the highest among NFL inside linebackers, per Spotrac.com.
While Alexander rehabilitates his injury, the 49ers can turn to Elijah Lee, Brock Coyle and Malcolm Smith, the latter of whom reportedly agreed to a reduced salary after two injury-plagued seasons.
