The San Francisco 49ers made a huge addition to their defense in free agency, signing linebacker Kwon Alexander to a four-year deal.

The catch is that Alexander is coming off of a torn ACL, so the 49ers are going to have to be careful with him as they work him back into action, and San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said as much on Friday.

“We’ll definitely ease him in,” Shanahan said, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “We don’t expect him to play early in those [preseason] games. I think he did it in October and had the surgery in November. … He’s looked great, he’s been here in the offseason working out and rehabbing, but anyone coming off an injury like that especially at his position and as late as it was, he’s a little later than [Jerick McKinnon] and Jimmy, we’ll definitely ease him in.”

Alexander, who played his collegiate football at LSU, was originally selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round (124th pick overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.

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He played in 12 games during his rookie campaign, registering 93 tackles, three sacks, a couple of interceptions, a pair of forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and nine passes defended.

Then, the following year, Alexander broke out, appearing in all 16 contests and racking up 145 tackles, three sacks, a pick, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, seven passes defended, and a defensive touchdown.

Oddly enough, though, the 24-year-old did not make his first Pro Bowl appearance until 2017, when he totaled 97 tackles, three interceptions, and a forced fumble.

In six games this past year, Alexander recorded 45 tackles, a sack, and two forced fumbles.