An undrafted journeyman who spent five years bouncing between practice squads before becoming San Francisco's emergency left tackle.
Austen Pleasants is a 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers who took the long way to a regular NFL role. After years cycling through practice squads across the league, he landed in San Francisco in late 2024 and has since carved out a spot as the team's top backup at tackle.
Path to the league
Pleasants went undrafted out of Ohio University in 2020 and spent his first five pro seasons bouncing on and off the practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals without sticking on an active roster for long.
Career highlights
The 49ers signed Pleasants to their practice squad in December 2024, giving him his first real foothold in the league. San Francisco re-signed him in 2025, and he has since developed into the top swing tackle behind Trent Williams, a role that finally validated years of grinding through camps and cuts.
2025 season recap
Pleasants got his first career start in 2025 when Trent Williams suffered a hamstring injury on the opening play against the Chicago Bears. He played 71 snaps in relief, helping anchor an offensive line that produced 42 points and nearly 500 yards of offense, a performance that made him San Francisco's trusted next man up at left tackle.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Austen Pleasants
- ESPN: Austen Pleasants
- NBC Sports Bay Area: How NFL journeyman Austen Pleasants found 'validation' stepping up for 49ers star Trent Williams
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Offensive Tackle
- Group
- offense
- College
- Ohio
- Hometown
- Ironton, OH, USA
- Age
- 28
- Status
- active
