Forgotten Packers free agent quietly lands with an NFC rival

Drafting Anthony Belton raised the possibility. Now, it has become a reality.

After only one season and a grand total of 13 offensive snaps, Green Bay Packers free-agent tackle Andre Dillard has found a new home.

Dillard, who signed with the Packers last year, becomes the latest to swap green and gold for the rival San Francisco 49ers colors. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the 49ers have signed Dillard and Nicholas Petit-Frere.

You can be forgiven if you forgot Dillard played for the Packers. The team signed the former first-round pick last offseason to improve their tackle depth, but fortunately, they enjoyed rare injury luck at tackle.

Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom barely missed a snap, relegating Dillard to the swing tackle role. He played 13 total snaps in his one season with the Packers.

Many fans were understandably concerned after Green Bay signed Dillard — he had allowed a league-high 12 sacks in 2023 for the Tennessee Titans — but to his credit, he looked much improved during the summer. His preseason PFF pass-blocking grade of 90.1 ranked fourth in the NFL.

However, the Packers' recent moves all but confirmed his exit.

The writing was on the wall for Andre Dillard after Packers drafted Anthony Belton

There's only so much room on the 53-man roster. Once you get past the guaranteed starters (Walker, Tom, Aaron Banks, and Elgton Jenkins) and the other roster locks (Jordan Morgan, Sean Rhyan, and Belton), there isn't much space remaining for Dillard.

Green Bay also has versatile young linemen, like Donovan Jennings, and a former draft pick in Jacob Monk. It also used a seventh-rounder on John Williams, who has a good chance of making the 53.

While Dillard didn't play often last season, he is still a former first-round pick with NFL experience, and his best opportunity for snaps was never in Green Bay.

He follows in Robert Saleh's footsteps of swapping the Packers for 49ers this offseason. Dillard becomes the latest Packers free agent to sign elsewhere, leaving tight end Tyler Davis as the only unsigned player.