Tag: 49ers practice squad

Another practice squad swap for 49ers after injury to newly-signed player

The #49ers practice squad had an injury issue that forced them to effectively reverse a roster move they made Wednesday.

The 49ers one day after adding safety Doug Middleton to their practice squad and releasing safety Kai Nacua have announced another roster move involving those two players.

Middleton was placed on the practice squad injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. That opened a practice squad spot, so a day after releasing Nacua to make room for Middleton, the 49ers re-signed Nacua.

Nacua spent part of 2020 with the 49ers and played in five games, mostly as a special teams contributor. He played in one game this year and saw 15 snaps on special teams.

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More practice squad movement as injuries hit 49ers active roster

The #49ers made some moves on their practice squad with injuries hitting the active roster.

The 49ers on Wednesday announced a handful of moves on their practice squad in the wake of some bad injury news coming out of their Week 12 game vs. Minnesota.

San Francisco added linebacker Justin March and safety Doug Middleton to their practice squad, and in a corresponding move placed wide receiver Devin Funchess on practice squad injured reserve and released safety Kai Nacua.

March has been in the NFL since joining the Chiefs in 2015 as an undrafted free agent. After two seasons in Kansas City he bounced to the Dolphins, Cowboys, Seahawks and most recently the Titans. March has played in 59 games with five starts and racked up 45 tackles, a tackle for loss and three pass breakups. The Titans let March go in early September.

Middleton joined the NFL as an undrafted free agents with the Jets in 2016. He was with New York for three years, then Miami and Jacksonville. In his three stops he played in 24 games with four starts and posted 44 tackles with four pass breakups.

With Funchess heading to IR and three linebackers potentially out Sunday for the 49ers it’s not a surprise San Francisco used the open practice squad spot on a linebacker. March may wind up needing to play Sunday if Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw and Marcell Harris are all out with injuries. None of the trio practiced Wednesday. Tyrell Adams is the other linebacker on the practice squad who could also be up Sunday.

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49ers protect 3 practice squad players during bye week

The #49ers ensured three players from their practice squad won’t be signed away during the bye week.

The 49ers on Wednesday protected three players from getting poached off their practice squad. San Francisco ensured quarterback Nate Sudfeld, tight end Tanner Hudson and offensive lineman Colton McKivitz won’t be signed by another club while the team has its week off.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of this trio become fixtures on the active roster while the injury bug continues to plague San Francisco.

Sudfeld provides insurance under center with Jimmy Garoppolo dealing with a calf injury and Trey Lance working through a knee sprain. Garoppolo is expected to return after the bye, but Lance’s status is less certain for Week 7, so Sudfeld could be active for a second consecutive game when the 49ers host the Colts.

Hudson was recently added after George Kittle was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. He played in one offensive snap and seven special teams snaps in Week 5 against the Cardinals. More time with the team could mean more time on the field as he fills the No. 3 tight end role with Kittle out for at least two more games.

The McKivitz protection is interesting and could signal some kind of shuffle on the offensive line. He’s capable of playing guard and tackle, but didn’t work his way onto the active roster this preseason. Right guard Daniel Brunskill has had an up-and-down year, and the club may be looking at opening an in-season competition at right guard with McKivitz in the mix.

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49ers roster moves: Jordan Matthews returns, 2 RBs released from practice squad

The #49ers made a number of moves on their practice squad, including the release of a pair of veteran RBs.

The 49ers on Tuesday made a series of moves on their practice squad to reflect some of the changing injury statuses on their active roster.

Running back Elijah Mitchell is expected to return for Week 5 and should be a full go at practice, giving the 49ers a healthier running back room than they had when they made a slew of RB additions to their practice squad.

They also added another tight end to the practice squad as George Kittle battles through a calf injury.

Here’s a quick rundown of the moves, which were first sent out by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco:

 

49ers add extra RB to practice squad with Raheem Mostert out

The former Stanford running back retired in 2018 before re-joining the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad.

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The San Francisco 49ers are once again in a spot where they may have to shuffle their backfield. Raheem Mostert is out for the year with an ankle injury and Austin Walter is on the COVID-19 list, so San Francisco added running back Tyler Gaffney to their practice squad as an additional option in their injury-ravaged backfield.

Gaffney was a sixth-round pick of the Panthers out of Stanford in the 2014 draft. He’s also spent time with the Patriots and Jaguars. Gaffney hasn’t made his NFL debut yet, and retired in 2018 before making his way back into the league with the 49ers.

Jeff Wilson Jr. figures to lead the 49ers’ backfield in Week 16 vs. the Cardinals, but he’s dealing with the after effects of a high ankle sprain. Tevin Coleman and Jerick McKinnon are also on the active roster, so Gaffney will give them some insurance should they encounter more injury issues.

49ers make several changes to practice squad, reach injury settlement with Tavon Austin

The 49ers made several practice squad moves, and released wide receiver Tavon Austin.

The 49ers on Tuesday announced a slew of changes to their practice squad. They signed offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and defensive lineman Willie Henry Jr. to the 16-man squad. In a corresponding move, cornerback Brian Allen, offensive lineman Cody Conway and defensive lineman Adam Shuler were all let go. Wide receiver Tavon Austin was also released with an injury settlement.

Bergstrom, 34, was a third-round pick of the Raiders in 2012. He spent three years with Oakland before bouncing to Houston, Baltimore and Washington. Through his eight seasons he’s started 21 of the 82 games he’s played in. He’ll give them additional experience and depth on the interior if they need to dip into their practice squad.

Henry spent time in the offseason with San Francisco, but was released in late July. The 2016 Ravens fourth-round pick has three starts in 17 career games. In those 17 games Henry has 36 tackles, 4.5 sacks and five pass breakups. He’s another player the 49ers may lean on if they need depth from on internal source.

Allen is the most notable name of the players let go. He was pushed into a start against the Dolphins in Week 5 because of injuries in the secondary. The outing did not go well and he was removed from the game and reverted back on the practice squad the following day.

San Francisco reached an injury settlement with Austin who hurt his knee during training camp and was placed on Injured Reserve. Going on IR before the season prevented him from playing for the 49ers this year. An injury settlement means he’s a free agent and can sign with any club. Austin signed with the 49ers in mid-August and went on IR just over two weeks later.

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49ers practice squad TE suspended 6 games

The NFL suspended 49ers practice squad TE Chase Harrell for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

The NFL suspended 49ers undrafted rookie tight end Chase Harrell for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy per Matt Barrows of the Athletic.

Harrell’s suspension will open up a spot on the 49ers’ 16-man practice squad, although no addition has been announced. This shouldn’t have any sort of impact on San Francisco, which just signed TE Daniel Helm off the Buccaneers practice squad to join their 53-man roster, indicating there weren’t any plans to elevate Harrell in his first season.

San Francisco signed Harrell as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas following this year’s draft. The 6-4, 249-pound tight end spent three seasons at the University of Kansas before transferring to Arkansas for his final two years. He caught 37 passes for 396 yards and six touchdowns in 17 games across four years between the two schools.

Why 49ers elevated 2 players from practice squad for Week 1

Hroniss Grasu and Dontae Johnson were elevated to the San Francisco 49ers’ active roster for Week 1.

The 49ers on Saturday elevated center Hroniss Grasu and cornerback Dontae Johnson from the practice squad to the active roster when they placed wide receiver Deebo Samuel on Injured Reserve. The Grasu and Johnson promotions don’t correspond with Samuel’s move to IR though due to new practice squad and roster rules.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams are allowed to elevate two practice squad players to the active roster. They can be moved up twice without being subject to waivers when they go back to the practice squad. Teams on game days will be allowed a maximum of 55 players on the active roster, although it’ll still be 46 players suiting up.

Grasu will act as insurance on the offensive line in case Ben Garland can’t play through an ankle injury that kept him limited in practice all week. Johnson has a chance of being among the 46 active players with cornerback Jason Verrett ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Both Grasu and Johnson were among the team’s four “protected” players for the first week. By going to the active roster they will revert back to the practice squad after the game, and they’ll be eligible to sign an NFL contract with any team starting Monday at 1:01pm Pacific Time.

Unless Grasu or Johnson plays and plays well, chances are the 49ers won’t have a problem keeping them on the practice squad beyond this week. Unless San Francisco adds a player to their 53-man roster, they’ll be working with 52 until Samuel is activated off IR.

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49ers announce 4 protected practice squad players for Week 1. So, what does that mean?

The 49ers announced their four protected practice squad players thanks to new COVID-19 practice squad rules.

The 49ers on Tuesday announced their first four “protected” practice squad players of the year. Offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu, wide receiver Kevin White, defensive end Dion Jordan and cornerback Dontae Johnson.

Under the new practice squad rules designed to mitigate some of the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are allowed to “protect” up to four players from their 16-man practice squad roster each week.

Those “protected” players aren’t able to be poached off a team’s practice squad. If a “protected” player is not elevated to the active roster, he can sign an NFL contract with any club either after his team’s game or at 12:01am Eastern Time the next day – whichever comes later. If that player does get elevated to the active roster, he reverts back to the practice squad and can sign an NFL contract with any team beginning at 4:01pm Eastern Time on the first business day after his team’s game. Other clubs aren’t allowed to contact protected players until after his team’s game. “Protected” designations go into effect Tuesday at 4:00pm Eastern Time, except for the teams that played on Monday Night Football. Their designations go into effect at 4:00pm Eastern Time Wednesday.

For San Francisco the selections all make sense given their injury issues at some positions. Grasu can fill in at center if Ben Garland is unavailable after dealing with an ankle injury since training camp. White, Jordan and Johnson are all depth options at three positions where the 49ers are banged up.

At receiver they could be without both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk the first week. At defensive end they only have three true edge rushers with Dee Ford, Nick Bosa and Kerry Hyder. Having Jordan gives them a little wiggle room in the event a player becomes unavailable between Tuesday and Sunday. Johnson knows San Francisco’s defense well and holds a similar role to Jordan where he gives some insurance in case something goes awry during the week of practice.

49ers 2020 practice squad tracker

Following all the 49ers practice squad additions.

The 49ers will begin filling out their 16-man practice squad now that they’ve cut their 80-man roster down to 53 players.

In years past, practice squads were limited to just 10 players. Because of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and rules to help minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teams, the NFL expanded practice squad rosters to 16 players this year. Six of those players don’t have restrictions based on their NFL experience — which is a departure from the norm where players became ineligible after a certain number of accrued seasons.

Follow along here as early reports of practice squad additions come out before the team makes an official announcement:

CB Dontae Johnson