A former Vikings third-round draft pick is seeing his NFL journey extend for a few extra weeks.
Chazz Surratt, the North Carolina linebacker drafted by the Vikings in 2021, signed with the 49ers last week in a move buried in the transaction wire. The college quarterback turned linebacker has only been playing the position since his sophomore season of college, so the position was new to him when the Vikings drafted him. The pick was a major gamble by then-general manager Rick Spielman, and it was one that did not pay off.
Spielman would be fired the following year, and Surratt would be released after just one year, playing in nine games for the Vikings.
Surratt would sign with the New York Jets, where he played the last three years before his contract expired this offseason. Now with the 49ers, Surratt will play in a similar role that he did with the Jets where he can be expected to further develop, this time just behind one of the best in the NFL in Fred Warner.