SANTA CLARA -- Cutthroat decisions and movement never rest in the NFL, especially in August. When one man’s life spins in a new direction it creates an opportunity for another that has little choice but to view it as such.
Mark Nzeocha landed in that position Thursday, after the 49ers traded starting linebacker Eli Harold to Detroit for a conditional 2020 seventh-round draft pick.
Nzeocha moves into the starting lineup Saturday when the 49ers play the Colts in Indianapolis. It’s so new that he was uncertain of his elevated status until informed Thursday afternoon by a small group of reporters.
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“OK, cool,” Nzeocha said. “I’ll be starting, and I’ll be ready.”
If Nzeocha (pronounced en-ZAH-cha) is indeed ready to perform the strong-side linebacker position -- “Sam" in football terminology -- it’ll be at least partly because he benefited from the presence of Harold.
“He showed me a lot of things, technique-wise, like how to use my hands a certain way,” said Nzeocha, who spent his first three NFL seasons (two in Dallas, one in San Francisco) as an inside linebacker playing mostly on special teams. “Eli was a great teammate. I learned a lot from him. Honestly, I’m sad to see him go. But I wish him all the best.
“If that means I’m up now and my number is called, I’ll be ready to go.”
San Francisco 49ers
The decision by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to start Nzeocha (6-foot-2, 240) on Saturday is significant because coaches consider the third preseason game as a dress rehearsal for the regular season.
Though others -- Pita Taumoepenu, Cassius Marsh and Dakoda Watson to name three -- will continue to be evaluated, Nzeocha gets first crack at becoming the impact player the Niners hoped Harold would be when he was selected in the third round of the 2015 draft by former general manager Trent Baalke.
Harold’s production never quite materialized as anticipated. In 25 starts with the 49ers, the 6-3, 260-pounder managed only five sacks.
“We’ve got some numbers issues at certain spots,” Shanahan said. “We kind of saw how it was probably going to go and we wanted to do what was best for Eli and best for this organization and make that decision now.”
Which opens the door for Nzeocha, as well as others.