49ers To Cut WR Bruce Ellington
The 49ers plan to release wide receiver Bruce Ellington on Thursday, a league source tells Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (on Twitter).
Ellington, 26 later this month, was a regular for the 49ers in 2014 and 2015. Unfortunately, the former fourth-round pick missed the entire 2016 season when he sustained a severe hamstring injury just prior to the 75-man cutdown.
This year, Ellington was facing something of an uphill battle with Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Kerley, Marquise Goodwin, Aldrick Robinson, and Louis Murphy in the top five receiver spots. With Ellington out of the way, fifth-round pick Trent Taylor and others will have a better chance of making the 53-man roster.
In 2015, Ellington’s last season on the field, he had 19 grabs for 137 yards. He did most of his work on special teams with 26 kick returns for 665 yards, good for an average of 25.6 yards.
NFC West Notes: 49ers, Hyde, Seahawks
Although the 49ers have several key players, including safety Eric Reid and running back Carlos Hyde, entering their respective contract seasons, it doesn’t as though San Francisco has extension offers lined up for free agents-to-be, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
“I would say that we’re always having internal discussions, Kyle (Shanahan) and myself and our staffs,” general manager John Lynch said. “And, we really try to be forward thinking looking out, not just this year but three to five years and saying, ‘OK, let’s look at the construct of our roster.’ But, our priority was let’s provide competition at each and every position. And so, that’s why we were so active this year to go out and to be able to really judge this and judge those guys in particular. There’s going to be a little more urgency with some of them, but we’re going to let this play out a little bit and see how they fit with what we want to do.”
Here’s more from the NFC West:
- The Seahawks gave former Philadelphia first rounder Marcus Smith a one-year, $690K deal with zero guarantees, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The deal carries a maximum value of $1.44MM. Smith hasn’t done much in his three NFL seasons so far, but the Seahawks are hoping to get something out of him as a reserve.
- Lance Dunbar was signed to serve as the backup to running back Todd Gurley, but given that the former Cowboy is on active/PUP and has no timetable to return from injury, Malcolm Brown is taking the lion’s share of work as the Rams‘ No. 2, as Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes. Brown, a 2015 undrafted free agent out of Texas, has managed only 22 carries in two pro seasons, but new Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay has been “pleasantly surprised” by Brown’s training camp work, per Gonzalez. The Rams could still look at external options — they’ve talked with free agent Rashad Jennings — but for now, Brown is on track to take over the backup role.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
49ers Sign WR Louis Murphy
The 49ers have signed veteran wide receiver Louis Murphy to a one-year deal, the club announced today. In order to create a roster spot, San Francisco waived/injured linebacker Jimmie Gilbert.
Murphy, a seven-year NFL veteran, has spent time with four clubs during his pro tenure, with his last stop coming in Tampa Bay. The former fourth-round pick’s best season came in 2010, when he posted 41 receptions and 609 yards for the Raiders. Health questions (a torn ACL in 2015 followed by a setback during rehab) and off-field concerns (an arrest on gun charges earlier this year) have limited Murphy’s market, but he should have a chance to compete for time in San Francisco.
While the 49ers have some intriguing options among their current receiver crop, the club lacks established players aside from Pierre Garcon and Jeremy Kerley. While Marquise Goodwin, Aldrick Robinson, Bruce Ellington, Trent Taylor, and others each have interesting attributes, Murphy is more experienced than any of them.
Gilbert, meanwhile, is expected to miss the 2017 campaign after suffering a torn ACL, as the 49ers announced earlier today. Gilbert is a rookie undrafted free agent out of Colorado.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/17
A roundup of today’s minor transactions:
- The Cardinals signed cornerback Jarell Carter and waived/injured linebacker Alani Fua (knee) and cornerback Ronald Zamort (knee). Zamort appeared to be ahead of Brandon Williams on the Cardinals’ depth chart at the time of his season-ending ACL tear.
- The Bengals waived kicker Jonathan Brown, which means the team’s kicking competition is down to Jake Elliott and Randy Bullock. To fill his roster spot, the Bengals signed safety Cedric Thompson.
- The Colts claimed former Denver tight end Henry Krieger-Coble on waivers. To make room, the Colts waived tight end Colin Jeter.
- The Eagles signed cornerback Tay Glover-Wright to a one-year contract, per a club announcement. Glover-Wright is an undrafted free agent with Utah State with just two games of NFL experience on his resume.
- Wide receiver K.J. Maye, who played in college at Minnesota, has been signed to the Patriots‘ 90-man roster.
- The 49ers announced that they’ve claimed wide receiver Tim Patrick off waivers from Baltimore and waived/injured fellow wideout B.J. Johnson.
- The Chiefs have signed free agent wide receivers Corey Washington and Rob Wheelwright, and waived wide receiver Antwan Goodley and tight end Emanuel Byrd.
- The Saints have signed former South Carolina linebacker Jonathan Walton, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.
49ers LB Reuben Foster Medically Cleared
Although reports following the draft indicated rookie linebacker Reuben Foster could be sidelined by a shoulder injury, the Alabama product has been medically cleared and will participate in 49ers training camp, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Barrows had reported earlier this week that Foster was expected to be a full contributor during camp.
While other NFL clubs were worried about the condition of Foster’s shoulder — worries that surgery “didn’t take” abounded, while some teams “medically rejected” Foster — the 49ers were always prepared to select him in the first round. In fact, San Francisco likely would have taken Foster at No. 3 overall had edge rushers Myles Garrett and Solomon Thomas already been drafted. Soon after the draft, however, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted Foster wasn’t a lock to play during his rookie campaign.
That view had apparently changed by June, as Shanahan by then had “no concerns” about Foster’s health status. It’s good news for the No. 31 pick, not only because he can play during his rookie season, but because his contract status will remain unaffected. Had Foster been placed on the non-football injury list, his contract may have tolled, meaning he’d be one more year further from unrestricted free agency.
Foster is expected to compete with free agent addition Malcolm Smith for the Niners’ weakside linebacker position, per Barrows. San Francisco inked Smith to a five-year, $26.5MM contract earlier this year.
49ers Sign First-Round DL Solomon Thomas
The 49ers have agreed to terms with first-round defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, general manager John Lynch announced. Thomas, the third overall selection, had been one of just three unsigned 2017 draft picks, a list that now includes only cornerback Gareon Conley (Raiders) and wide receiver Corey Davis (Titans).
On Thursday, Lynch indicated his “concern” that talks with Thomas had not yet concluded, and while it hasn’t yet been officially reported as to what caused the holdup, offset language typically causes snags during negotiations with top picks. As Joel Corry of CBSSports.com noted earlier this week (Twitter link), San Francisco didn’t include offset language in 2013 first-rounder Eric Reid‘s rookie deal, meaning Reid could have collected both his 49ers salary and money from a new club had he been released. Thomas likely wanted the same concession in his contract, but the 49ers’ new regime may have wanted to start a fresh precedent in regards to rookie pacts.
Thomas, a Stanford product, will add to already crowded San Francisco defensive line, a unit that also includes the club’s first-round picks from 2015 and 2016. Thomas will likely play defensive end opposite Arik Armstead, while DeForest Buckner will kick inside in the 49ers’ new 4-3 scheme. The rest of San Francisco’s defensive line includes free agent addition Earl Mitchell, Aaron Lynch, Quinton Dial, and other depth pieces.
The 49ers’ four-year deal with Thomas should be worth roughly $28.154MM and contain a signing bonus of ~$18.616MM, according to Over the Cap. The pact will also include a fifth-year option, affording San Francisco the opportunity to retain Thomas in 2021.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
49ers Notes: Contract-Year Vets, Foster
- General manager John Lynch suggested Thursday that the 49ers aren’t in a rush to sign any of their contract-year veterans to extensions, telling Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group and other reporters, “We’re going to let this play out a little bit and see how they fit with what we want to do.” That’s not a surprising stance on Lynch’s part, as it’s debatable at best whether the team has any must-sign players due for free agency next offseason. Running back Carlos Hyde, safety Eric Reid, and linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Aaron Lynch are San Francisco’s headliners in contract years.
- More on the 49ers, who got some welcome news Thursday when rookie linebacker Reuben Foster announced that he has been completely cleared to participate in training camp, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. The former Alabama defensive stalwart underwent right shoulder surgery in February, which contributed to his falling draft stock and helped the 49ers land him at No. 31 (after trading up from No. 34). Adam Schefter of ESPN then reported after the draft that Foster’s surgery “didn’t take,” leading to fears that he’d miss his first season, but he’s good to go for now.
Latest On 49ers’ Talks With Solomon Thomas
49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas is one of just three rookies without a contract, and general manager John Lynch told reporters Thursday that he’s “concerned” that the third overall pick remains unsigned. Lynch is “hopeful,” though, that the two sides will reach an agreement before San Francisco starts training camp practice Friday.
“I wish this were done. I think it should be done,” said Lynch (via NBC Sports Bay Area).
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the battle between the 49ers and the ex-Stanford star likely centers on offset language, signing bonus cash flow or a combination of the two. Last year’s third overall pick, defensive end Joey Bosa, fought over those issues with the Chargers and didn’t strike a deal until the end of August, when he landed the largest upfront signing bonus in franchise history ($17MM) in exchange for letting the Bolts include offsets in the deal.
The 49ers and Thomas won’t necessarily go down the same ugly road that the Chargers and Bosa did, but it’s worth noting that the players are both CAA clients. Also of concern is that Thomas missed most of the 49ers’ offseason program because NFL rules stipulate that rookies who haven’t completed their undergraduate degrees are not allowed to join their teams on a full-time basis until the spring semester ends. So, sitting out a chunk of camp on top of that missed time during the spring would place Thomas further behind the 8-ball than he already is.
When Thomas does sign with the 49ers, they’ll get a player who totaled 61 tackles and 8.5 sacks last year en route to third-team All-America honors. For now, he and two other first-rounders – Titans wide receiver Corey Davis (fifth overall) and Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley (24th) – are the only members of this year’s draft class awaiting contracts.
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Could Rookie Chanceller James Makes The 49ers?
- Undrafted rookie safety Chanceller James is an intriguing candidate for a role in the 49ers‘ secondary, writes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. The Boise State product initially joined that team after an impressive showing during rookie minicamp, and his “size and aggression” could ultimately earn him a spot on the team.
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Opinion: 49ers' Future Could Hinge On Redskins' Negotiations With Kirk Cousins
- The 49ers’ future under center could hinge on whether the Redskins are able to lock up Cousins, opines Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. The Niners entered the current offseason lacking under center, yet they just made modest free agent acquisitions (Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley) and only used a third-rounder on the position in the draft, taking C.J. Beathard. Without an obvious long-term answer at QB, the 49ers figure to chase Cousins in 2018 if he hits free agency, especially considering they have a Cousins fan in head coach/ex-Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and will possess a boatload of cap space next winter.