SANTA CLARA – Defensive lineman Cedric Thornton, who played 98 games over the course of six NFL seasons, this week informed the 49ers of his plan to retire.
The 49ers re-signed defensive tackle Chris Jones to take Thornton’s spot on the team’s 90-man roster. Jones can play three of the four positions on the 49ers’ defensive line.
“(I’m) excited for Chris to get out there and put some tape on, because he’s a good football player,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “He’ll be able to show that in the next couple of weeks.”
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Jones played six games for the 49ers in 2016 after appearing in 28 games in two seasons with New England and seven games in ’16 with Miami. Jones spent last season on injured reserve with the 49ers after undergoing groin surgery.
The 49ers signed Thornton, 30, to a one-year contract on July 26. He played 24 snaps of defense on Saturday night when the 49ers played the Houston Texans in the team's second preseason game.
“I thought he did a great job,” Saleh said. “He’s a great man, a great human being and he worked his tail off, did a lot of good things. Sometimes veterans get to that point where they know they don’t want to do it anymore. But to his credit, he was thinking about a lot of people while he was going through that process. So (I have) a lot of respect for that man and how he handled it.”
