NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Reshard Cliett
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: OL Blaine Clausell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Mario Alford
Indianpolis Colts
- Signed: T Pierce Burton
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE Kyle Carter, T Marquis Lucas
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Justin Zimmer
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Adam Gettis
- Cut: OL Laurence Gibson, RB George Winn
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Anthony Denham
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Shaquille Riddick
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Mitchell Van Dyk
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB David Fluellen
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DL A.J. Francis, DB Shakiel Randolph
- Cut: DL Trevon Coley, DB Lee Hightower
Former NFL TE Konrad Reuland Dead At 29
Former NFL tight end Konrad Reuland passed away after suffering a brain aneurysm, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh announced after last night’s game. Reuland’s alma mater of Stanford has also confirmed the tragic news. 
“Just want to offer condolences to his family. We love Konrad Reuland,” Harbaugh said before reading a psalm (link via CSN Mid-Atlantic). “Every single guy in that locker room loves him who knows him.”
Reuland entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and signed with the 49ers. In 2012, he found his way to the Jets and appeared in every regular season game. In the following year, he had his season with the Jets cut short by a knee injury. After a brief stay with the Colts, he hooked on with the Ravens in November 2014 and cycled between their main roster and practice squad for a long time. In 2015, he saw time in four games for Baltimore. He was in camp with the Colts again this summer, but he did not make the final cut.
We here at PFR would like to extend our condolences to Reuland’s family, friends, and teammates.
Mike Shanahan Could Take Role With 49ers?
MONDAY, 8:18pm: A Shanahan-49ers reunion will not happen, a source informed Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who reports the former 49ers OC and Raiders, Broncos and Redskins head coach will not be overseeing the 49ers “in any capacity.” Florio’s source spoke differently of the team’s plans compared to a Monday La Canfora report made during a radio appearance, one that centered around a forthcoming 49ers decision to bounce CEO Jed York of the football-operations side of the team and bring in Shanahan or someone else to run the football side.
La Canfora reported John and Denise York would not be replacing Jed York but instead hire someone else to oversee the football ops. Florio reports a Jed York demotion will not occur.
SUNDAY, 11:33am: A report last week indicated a “growing sense” that the 49ers will fire general manager Trent Baalke at the end of the season, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com now reports that it would be a “mild surprise” if Baalke were to be retained. One candidate to fill a role with San Francisco — whether in the club’s front office or in a coaching capacity — is longtime NFL coach Mike Shanahan, according to La Canfora.
[RELATED: 49ers Extend TE Vance McDonald]
Shanahan, 64, interviewed for the 49ers’ head coaching vacancy in each of the past two seasons, and was thought to have finished second to Chip Kelly for the job earlier this year. However, with Denise and John York set to take an active role in the franchise, Shanahan’s name could once again pop up, as he’s spoken to the couple about club openings in the past. Shanahan reportedly wanted to part ways with quarterback Colin Kaepernick if he secured the San Francisco job earlier this year, and while that may have caused him to miss out on the gig at the time, a wish to release Kaepernick now presumably wouldn’t be a hindrance.
However, most reports indicate that Kelly should be safe, which could mean that Shanahan would instead be targeted for an executive role. Shanahan has never worked as a general manager, but he has exerted personnel control over his rosters as a head coach in his previous stops.
49ers Place Vance McDonald On IR
Three days after signing Vance McDonald to a five-year extension, the 49ers sent the tight end to injured reserve, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
A shoulder injury sustained in San Francisco’s 12th straight loss Sunday will end McDonald’s season, one where he claimed ownership of the 49ers’ tight end position for the foreseeable future. McDonald went down during the second quarter and did not return for the second half.
The 49ers claimed offensive lineman Josh Allen off waivers from the Buccaneers, Caplan reports (on Twitter) to take McDonald’s roster spot. McDonald will join key 49ers NaVorro Bowman, Eric Reid and Arik Armstead on IR.
The fourth-year player finishes the season with a career-high 24 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns, doing so in a San Francisco passing attack that’s been one of the worst in the league. Second-year player Blake Bell and former waiver claim Je’Ron Hamm comprise the 49ers’ tight end depth as they attempt to snap the longest losing streak in franchise history, one extended after an overtime loss to the Jets on Sunday.
McDonald signed a five-year, $35MM extension on Friday.
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Most Of Week 14
The final month of the regular season will dictate the playoff futures for teams like the Cowboys, Patriots, Chiefs, and Raiders. For other teams, the postseason is a statistical impossibility. Already, the Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Rams, Bears, and 49ers have been mathematically eliminated. The Chargers, Saints, Panthers, Eagles, Bengals, and Cardinals are not technically out of it, but their chances are remote.
Here’s where those teams and the others not currently ticketed for the playoffs stand in the draft order (Note – Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
- Browns 0-13
- 49ers 1-12
- Jaguars 2-11
- Bears 3-10
- Rams 4-9 (pick belongs to Titans)
- Jets 4-9
- Panthers 5-8
- Chargers 5-8
- Saints 5-8
- Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-8
- Cardinals 5-7-1
- Bengals 5-7-1
- Bills 6-7
- Colts 6-7
- Titans 7-6
- Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-6
- Packers 7-6
- Redskins 7-5-1
- Ravens 7-5 (Note – The Ravens play their Week 14 game tonight against the Patriots.)
- Dolphins 8-5
Strength of schedule via SB Nation.
Could Jimmy Garoppolo Be An Option For The 49ers?
- Ben Volin of The Boston Globe suggests (via Twitter) another suitor for Garoppolo: the Bears. Volin tweets that Chicago desperately wants a young quarterback, and he also notes that the Patriots signal-caller is from Chicago and went to Eastern Illinois. Volin also suggests the 49ers and Cardinals as potential landing spots.
[SOURCE LINK]
49ers Extend TE Vance McDonald
The 49ers announced tonight that they’ve signed tight end Vance McDonald to a five-year extension, locking him up through the 2021 campaign. The new deal is reportedly worth $35MM in total, including a $7MM signing bonus and $16MM in guarantees.
[RELATED: San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart]
McDonald, 26, has become one of the few reliable weapons in the San Francisco offense during his fourth season in the league, and he’s already exceeded most of his career-highs with four contests still left to play. Through 10 starts, McDonald has posted 24 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns, the latter of which makes him the 49ers’ leader in scores. He’s split snaps this season with Garrett Celek, as both tight ends have played exactly 425 offensive snaps.
As the season comes to a close, many clubs with extra cap space will look to lock up younger players and take some of the financial hit immediately. The 49ers certainly fit that bill, as the team ranks second in the NFL with roughly $43MM in 2016 cap room. Certainly, San Francisco will carry over some of that space into 2017, but the Niners are set next year too: they rank seventh in the league with more than $46MM in projected cap room next season.
McDonald becomes the third member of the 49ers’ 2013 draft class to earn an extension, as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link) that defenders Quinton Dial and Tank Carradine have also scored new deals. 2013 first-round safety Eric Reid has also seen his contract somewhat amended, as San Francisco has already exercised its 2017 fifth-year option on Reid.
McDonald’s new $7MM annual average places him near the bottom of the second tier of tight end contracts, and puts him directly between Coby Fleener and Delanie Walker in per year salary. McDonald’s reported guarantee of $16MM would rank third among tight ends, which likely means that the figure refers to an injury-only — rather than a full — guarantee.
Adam Schefter and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) were the first to report the five-year deal, its total value, and its guarantee. Caplan reported the signing bonus (Twitter link).
Torrey Smith Believes Chip Kelly Will Stick Around
- Despite the team’s 1-11 record, 49ers receiver Torrey Smith is convinced that head coach Chip Kelly will be sticking around. “He ain’t going anywhere anyways,” Smith told Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “I don’t think it’s a situation where guys are really concerned about that.”
[SOURCE LINK]
Browns, 49ers In Race For Top Pick
The 1-11 49ers also loom as a contender for the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, with Seifert giving them a 14.1-percent chance at the top pick and a 99.7-percent chance at a top-5 pick. The organization will likely be making their highest pick since they drafted Alex Smith first overall in 2005.
49ers: Kaepernick To Remain Starting QB
49ers offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins says Colin Kaepernick will remain the starting quarterback this week against the Jets (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). Kaepernick was benched this past weekend against the Bears, but the Niners still want to continue with him as their primary signal caller. 
In a snowy game against Chicago, the 49ers’ offense was unable to get anything going. After going 1-for-5 for four yards and taking five sacks, coach Chip Kelly benched No. 7 in favor of Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert did better, but not by much. He completed four of his ten passing attempts for 35 yards and was also brought down in the end zone for a safety.
This is, of course, a lost season for San Francisco. However, they are still trying to figure out how to proceed at quarterback in 2017 and beyond. This year, as Kaepernick started the year on the bench and made headlines for his polarizing political stances, it seemed quite unlikely that he would be the QB solution after this season. However, after a string of quality games last month, some observers called for the Niners to consider Kaepernick for next season. This final month of action should give us an indication of whether have any interest in retaining Kaepernick. If they don’t, then Kaepernick could be in position to land a decent contract on the open market.