49ers re-sign DE Alex Barrett, place WR J.J. Nelson on injured reserve; recently-claimed DE James Lockhart retires

The San Francisco 49ers announced the re-signing of defensive end Alex Barrett. To make room on the roster, San Francisco has placed wide receiver J.J. Nelson (knee) on injured reserve. Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently said the receiver was expected to miss about a month due to the injury.

The 49ers last released Barrett on August 13. The defender has spent time on and off the roster since November of 2019.

In a bit of a surprise, recently-claimed defensive end James Lockhart has opted to retire as opposed to joining the 49ers. San Francisco was awarded him on Saturday after the Pittsburgh Steelers waived the 23-year-old defender.

Barrett entered the NFL with the Detroit Lions in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of San Diego State. He played for the San Diego Fleet of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its 2019 season before signing with the Oakland Raiders on April 5, 2019.


The Raiders waived/injured Barrett on August 30, 2019, and he cleared waivers, reverting to injured reserve. Oakland released him with an injury settlement on September 3, 2019.

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