The San Francisco 49ers have an impressively deep defensive line, but you can never have enough depth at that spot, and the team has been working on developing a couple guys behind the scenes. One of those guys is 2022 sixth-round pick Kalia Davis, who is set to enter his third season with the team in 2024.

Davis has only played three games so far in his career, with all of them coming in 2023. He did manage to rack up his first career sack, though, and he put together a strong outing in their preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans. However, it was announced he was undergoing surgery on Monday night, although the operation is just to remove a floating body in his knee, meaning his recovery should not be as lengthy as a typical surgery is.

Via Ian Rapoport:

“49ers DT Kalia Davis, who impressed in the first preseason game, is having surgery to remove a floating body in his knee, source said. It’s essentially a scope, and his recovery should be a relatively quick one.”

49ers dodge a bullet with Kalia Davis injury update

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Kalia Davis (93) celebrates his sack against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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This is a pretty brutal blow for Davis, who is looking to earn a spot on San Fran's 53-man roster. While Maliek Collins and Javon Hargave are pretty firmly entrenched as the team's starters, having competent backups who can come in and give them a play or two off throughout the course of a game is important.

Davis obviously isn't the most important player on this team, but he was in the process of making a serious case for a roster spot. Against the Titans, Davis had a pair of tackles for a loss, with one of them being the team's lone sack of the game. Despite playing on the interior of the defensive line, Davis has a knack for pressuring the quarterback, which is a great skill to have.

Now, he's going to be sidelined for some time, and while it doesn't sound like it's going to be a lengthy absence, it will surely disrupt the momentum he had built up early on in training camp. The hope is that Davis can return as soon as possible, but whether or not San Francisco will have a roster spot waiting for him once he returns remains to be seen.