Ahmad Brooks Released by 49ers After 10 Seasons

The San Francisco 49ers have released veteran linebacker Ahmad Brooks.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee first reported the move.

The 49ers officially announced Brooks' release Friday. In a statement, general manager John Lynch said:

"We would like to thank Ahmad for his nine years of service and contributions to the 49ers. In that time, he played a significant role on some formidable defensive units that helped this team achieve great success. We feel good about the depth and competition along our defensive front and believe that by making this decision now it will give Ahmad a head start on exploring his options with other teams. We wish him and his family nothing but the best."

Brooks, 33, had a solid season for the 49ers in 2016, appearing in every game and registering 53 tackles, 6.0 sacks and a forced fumble. He paired with Aaron Lynch on the edge of the team's 3-4 defense, though they combined for just 7.5 sacks.

Brooks had a pending cap hit of $6.2 million, per Spotrac, and since the 49ers are adjusting to a new 4-3 scheme, that likely played a major factor in the decision to release him.

The 49ers have also been giving Eli Harold, a third-round pick in 2015, first-team reps at outside linebacker this preseason. He started 13 games last season and recorded three sacks.

Brooks can still be productive for an NFL team, so he'll likely have plenty of suitors on the open market. His age and expensive salary made him expendable for a 49ers team that will be spending a lot of time in 2017 evaluating players who will make long-term contributions on both sides of the ball.

Meanwhile, the 49ers will turn to players currently on the roster like Harold, Lynch and Ray-Ray Armstrong to fill out the outside linebacker positions to replace Brooks.

The 49ers also have exciting talent on the defensive line with Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and 2017 first-round pick Solomon Thomas ready to make an impact for head coach Kyle Shanahan.