Ahmad Brooks: San Francisco 49ers cut veteran linebacker

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Veteran linebacker Ahmad Brooks is now a free agent after being released by the San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco announced the move Friday evening.

"We would like to thank Ahmad for his nine years of service and contributions to the 49ers," 49ers general manager John Lynch said in a team statement.

"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, began his career as a third-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2006 NFL Supplemental Draft. He played two seasons in Cincinnati before being claimed off of waivers in 2008 by the 49ers. Brooks had 53 tackles, six sacks, four passes defended and a forced fumble last season. He had 439 tackles, 51.5 sacks, 28 passes defended, 11 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions in 120 games for San Francisco. He has the third-most sacks in franchise history. Brooks made the Pro Bowl with the 49ers in 2013, after registering 8.5 sacks, with seven passes defended, two forced fumbles, an interception and a fumble recovery in 16 games.

Sources told the Sacramento Bee that the 49ers were trying to trade the linebacker before making the move.

Eli Harold is expected to be the 49ers' starting strong side linebacker. Harold has a salary cap figure of $823,000, while Brooks' was $6.1 million against the cap.

Brooks will likely catch on with another team before the season starts.