Jered Bell

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/31/16

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • Wide receiver Mario Alford cleared waivers and will revert to the Bengals‘ IR, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Recently cut tight end Ryan Malleck will revert to the Giants‘ IR after clearing waivers, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reports (on Twitter).
  • Continuing a busy day for their secondary, the Saints waived/injured rookie DB Jimmy Pruitt, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports (on Twitter).
  • The Saints also moved cornerback Damian Swann to IR, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports. A second-year cornerback who played in seven games with New Orleans last season and started two, Swann went down with an undisclosed injury this month. Paul Kruger will take his roster spot after signing today. This strips another corner from the Saints’ depth chart due to injury; the team recently cut Keenan Lewis, who remains unsigned.
  • The Bills announced that they have signed linebacker Ramon Humber. To make room, the team relased kickoff specialist Jordan Gay. Humber, 29, was cut loose by New England on Tuesday. Humber was a favorite of Bills assistant head coach Rob Ryan when he served as the defensive coordinator in New Orleans.
  • The Bills also made a successful claim for third-year center Patrick Lewis on waivers, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (on Twitter). To make room, the team waived offensive lineman Jamison Lalk, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. Seattle waived Lewis on Tuesday in trimming its roster down to 75 players. This comes two days after the Seahawks attempted to trade Lewis but evidently found no one willing to part with the kind of capital they preferred. The Bills, who occupied the 19th position in the waiver order, landed Lewis without parting with any draft picks and potentially added an interior-line backup for Eric Wood. Lewis started 13 games for the Seahawks over the past two seasons but saw Justin Britt‘s move to center push him out of a job. The Bills are the second team to claim the 2014 UDFA on waivers, doing so after the Seahawks added him by this measure when the Browns waived him.
  • The Falcons re-signed fullback Will Ratelle and placed wide receiver Devin Fuller on IR, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Fuller, a seventh-round pick, will undergo surgery after suffering a shoulder injury against the Dolphins on Thursday.
  • The Jaguars announce they have waived/injured wide receiver Tony Washington, Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The 49ers waived undrafted rookie DB Jered Bell from injured reserve with an injury settlement, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this report

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Lions waived cornerback Keith Lewis and signed fellow corner Brandon McGee, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
  • The Jaguars signed running back Cameron Marshall and waived quarterback Max Wittek, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link).
  • The Cowboys are signing offensive lineman Dan Buchholz, a UDFA out of Duquesne, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Dallas also announced that they’ve waived/injured guard Jared Smith.
  • The 49ers announced that they have waived/injured safety Jered Bell and signed wide receiver Ryan Whalen. Whalen should give SF some additional depth at wide receiver in the wake of recent injuries.
  • The Texans waived/injured defensive lineman Alex Carrington, who was signed only a week ago, tweets Wilson.
  • The Packers reached an injury settlement with tackle Josh James, according to Wilson (Twitter link).
  • The Dolphins removed defensive lineman Farrington Huguenin from injured reserve with an injury settlement, per Wilson (Twitter link).

49ers Sign DeForest Buckner, Draftees, UDFAs

The 49ers have confirmed the previously-reported signings of sixth-round draft picks Kelvin Taylor and Jeff Driskel, and announced nearly two dozen more roster moves to go along with those signings. In a press release, the Niners said they have waived four players from their 90-man roster, signed nine draft picks (including Taylor and Driskel), and added 12 undrafted free agents to the mix.DeForest Buckner

San Francisco’s most notable transaction is the signing of defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, who becomes the highest-drafted player to ink his rookie contract so far. Buckner, a standout at Oregon, was snagged by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick in last week’s draft, and is in line for a four-year contract worth more than $18.19MM, including a signing bonus of approximately $11.43MM. His deal also features a fifth-year option for 2020.

Listed below are the other draftees signed today by the 49ers, in addition to Buckner, Taylor, and Driskel. Only first-round guard Joshua Garnett and third-round defensive back Will Redmond are still unsigned:

While the 49ers had plenty of space on their roster for their draft picks, the team didn’t have much extra flexibility to add more than a handful of undrafted free agents. As such, San Francisco has cut four veterans: offensive lineman Jordan Devey, kicker Corey Acosta, running back Kendall Gaskins, and quarterback Dylan Thompson.

Devey is perhaps the most notable name in this group — the 49ers didn’t make many headlines when they acquired him from the Patriots in a trade for tight end Asante Cleveland last August, but Devey unexpectedly made his way into the club’s starting lineup to open the season. Although he was replaced down the stretch, the 28-year-old made nine starts and played nearly 400 offensive snaps for San Francisco in 2015.

With a few spots cleared on their 90-man roster, the Niners officially added 12 undrafted free agents. Here’s the full list of those UDFAs:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.