SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers agreed to a deal with free agent guard Robert Jones in hopes that he can return from a season-ending neck injury to provide depth on the offensive line.
A person familiar with the deal said the sides reached the agreement on Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move hadn't been announced by the team.
NFL Network first reported the agreement.
The 27-year-old Jones entered the league with Miami as an undrafted free agent in 2021. Jones started 30 games over four seasons, becoming a full-time starter in his final season there in 2024.
Jones then signed a one-year, $3.75 million deal with Dallas last offseason and was supposed to be in the mix to possibly start for the Cowboys. But he never played a snap after breaking his neck early in training camp.
The Niners are looking for options at left guard after shuffling several players through that spot last season. Ben Bartch began the season as the starter but only played sparingly there because of injuries and now is a free agent. Spencer Burford started nine games last season but left to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders last week.
Connor Colby, a seventh-round pick last season, is back this year and the Niners also signed Brett Toth as a free agent as competition.
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FILE - Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Robert Jones (65) runs onto the field during player introductions before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary late Monday, approving President Donald Trump's nominee to take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a public backlash over the administration's immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations.
Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close friendship with Trump, has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news. He takes over at a difficult time as Trump has ordered ICE agents to bolster airport security during a budget standoff in Congress. And he tangled with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who questioned Mullin's character and temperament during last week's combative confirmation hearing.
Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote, 54-45.
Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay. Democrats are demanding the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.
While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in immigration issues.
A former mixed martial arts fighter and collegiate wrestler who has led early-morning workout sessions in the members-only House gym, he became close with members of both parties and is often seen as a negotiator in partisan Washington.
It is his loyalty to Trump that landed him the job, and he’s not expected to sway from the president’s approach. Mullin was a strong supporter of Trump’s immigration agenda and ICE officers before being tapped for the DHS job.
“I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland I’ll be protecting everybody,” Mullin said during his confirmation hearing.
Mullin’s first challenge will be to restore routine funding to the department that has been blocked since mid-February as Democrats demand tighter restraints. They want immigration officers to identify themselves and not wear masks; refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations; wear body cameras; and obtain a judge's approval on warrants before entering people's homes or private spaces.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin sought to portray himself as a steady hand at a pivotal time for the agency — an image that was challenged by the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in a heated exchange. Democrats are also skeptical, seeing him as a loyal executor of Trump’s agenda.
Paul voted against Mullin during the committee vote, and again Monday. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joined the other Republicans in voting to confirm the nominee.
“Markwayne Mullin is ready to lead," said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 ranking Republican. He said Mullin will “serve with seriousness and character. He will be a leader who makes our country safer.”
Mullin comes into office at a time when public support for the president’s immigration agenda has fallen after a year of high-profile operations in multiple American cities. Under Noem’s leadership, officers were accused of using force to arrest immigrants, detaining them in squalid conditions and bypassing due process to rapidly deport immigrants.
Mullin did walk back some of his comments during his confirmation hearing, saying he was wrong to malign protester Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed by an ICE officer. He said that as secretary he would refrain from making judgments before an investigation is carried out.
He shed light on other ways he might influence policy when it comes to immigration. For example, he said officers would be required to use a warrant signed by a judge — not the administrative warrants now used by ICE officers — to enter a house except in rare circumstances.
He acknowledged the concerns some communities have over building massive ICE detention facilities in their neighborhoods and said cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that don’t work with ICE would be a last resort.
But ultimately, it is the White House that sets the agenda when it comes to how Trump’s vision for immigration enforcement is carried out, and Mullin is expected to follow its lead. Trump faces a strong lobby within the GOP pushing him to make good on his promise to deport 1 million people a year.
Mullin will also have his hands full charting a new course at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has come under scrutiny as it delivers disaster aid to parts of the country hard-hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters.
A growing number of critics, even fellow Republicans, said Noem’s policy of personally approving contracts over $100,000 slowed disaster response, and the department still doesn’t have a full-time administrator.
Mullin presented a fresh approach on federal emergency management during his Senate confirmation hearing, rejecting the idea of eliminating FEMA and saying he would revoke Noem’s contract approval rule.
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
FILE - This photo combination shows, from left, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., in Washington, March 18, 2026, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.,. March 18, 2026 on Capitol Hill in Washington and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, Tom Brenner, file)
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump's pick for Homeland Security secretary, testifies during Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Wednesday, March 18, 2026 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
