49ers’ Bruce Ellington Done For Year; Down To 75
The 49ers announced that they have placed wide receiver Bruce Ellington on season-ending injured reserve. Ellington sustained his severe hamstring injury on Friday night. The team also cut undrafted rookie linebacker Jason Fanaika. With those two moves, SF is at the 75-man maximum.
Days ago, the 49ers traded for wide receiver Jeremy Kerley, giving them additional experience at the position. That’s good news for San Francisco since it’s quite a young group behind veteran Torrey Smith.
49ers Could Sit Kaepernick To Avoid Guarantees
- The 49ers could choose to put quarterback Colin Kaepernick “on ice” in 2016 in order to ensure that his injury guarantees do not kick in, as Breer tweets. San Francisco would be employing a similar tactic used by the Redskins last year with Robert Griffin III. Kaepernick’s $11.9MM salary for the upcoming season is fully guaranteed, but a report this morning indicated that the club could still cut the sixth-year QB.
49ers Could Cut Colin Kaepernick
49ers coach Chip Kelly has said that Colin Kaepernick‘s controversial decision not to stand for the national anthem will not affect his standing in the team’s quarterback competition. However, there’s now word that Kaepernick could potentially be released before the start of the season for football reasons. 
“Regardless of politics or not, he has a very, very big uphill battle to make this team,” insider Jay Glazer said on FOX. “I’d be shocked if he’s on the 49ers by the time this season ends. It has nothing to do with political views whatsoever. He lost a ton of weight this offseason, had three surgeries, couldn’t work out, lost that double threat, that size-speed ratio. No political views, he just hasn’t been effective. He’s regressing as a player. I’d be shocked if he’s on this roster by the end of this year. He may not be on it in the next two weeks.”
It would certainly be surprising if the 49ers cut their one-time franchise quarterback before the start of the season, particularly given that his $11.9MM salary is guaranteed for 2016. By releasing Kaepernick, the Niners would effectively be saying that regardless of salary, Christian Ponder and Jeff Driskel are both better quarterbacks than he is at this moment. It’s also possible that the Niners view Kaepernick’s presence as a distraction and they may not want him lurking over Blaine Gabbert‘s shoulder in 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Release OT Erik Pears
The 49ers have released offensive tackle Erik Pears and waived tight end Rory Anderson, the club announced today. As such, San Francisco’s roster now sits at 77 players, meaning it will need to cut two more players to be in roster compliance by Tuesday’s 3pm CT deadline.
[RELATED: 49ers Acquire Jeremy Kerley]
Pears, 34, started all 16 games for the 49ers last season after agreeing to a two-year $4.7MM deal that included $1MM in guarantees. While his availability is to be lauded, Pears graded among the league’s worst offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, struggling in both the run and pass game in his more than 1,000 snaps. San Francisco will incur $250K in dead money as a result of Pears’ release.
With Pears out of the picture, the 49ers are looking for a swing tackle, a role that the recently un-retired Anthony Davis could fill, as Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group tweets. While Davis is expected to start at guard, he could potentially move out to tackle if the Niners were to suffer an injury on the outside. In addition to starters Joe Staley and Trent Brown, San Francisco also has Alex Balducci, Colin Kelly, Fahn Cooper, Norman Price, and Josh Theus capable of playing tackle.
Anderson, 23, was selected in the seventh round out of South Carolina in the 2015 draft. He never played a snap during his rookie season, as he spent the entire year on injured reserve.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lions, 49ers To Swap WR Jeremy Kerley, OL Brandon Thomas
The Lions are trading wide receiver Jeremy Kerley to the 49ers in exchange for offensive lineman Brandon Thomas, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is pending physicals.
Kerley, 27, agreed to a one-year deal with Detroit this offseason after spending the first five seasons of his career with the Jets. Largely written out of New York’s offense in 2015, Kerley posted the worst statistics of his career, hauling in only 16 passes for 152 yards, and was subsequently released.Still, Kerley has enjoyed some productive seasons in the past, most notably in 2012, when he hauled in 56 passes for 827 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Lions will absorb $90K in dead money as a result of the trade, meaning the Niners will only be responsible for Kerley’s minimum base salary. In San Francisco, Kerley will slot into a wide receiver corps that has little veteran experience behind Torrey Smith, as Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington, DeAndre Smelter, and Aaron Burbridge are a few of the other options available to head coach Chip Kelly. Ellington, notably, has dealt with ankle and hamstring injuries in recent weeks, so Kerley could be insurance against a lengthy Ellington absence.
Thomas, meanwhile, is a former third-round pick, but has never taken a snap in the NFL. He missed his entire rookie season in 2014 while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in college, and didn’t appear in a game during his sophomore campaign. Thomas wasn’t need in the Bay Area given that Anthony Davis has come out of retirement and shifted to guard, so he’ll head to Detroit and act as depth behind starting interior lineman Larry Warford and Laken Tomlinson, though he can also moonlight at tackle.
Thomas, 25, is signed through the 2017 season. San Francisco will take on a roughly $250K in dead money as his prorated bonus accelerates onto its cap, while the Lions will be responsible for minimum salaries over the next two years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
Chip Kelly told media, including Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, today Colin Kaepernick‘s decision to sit down while the national anthem played last night will not affect his standing in the 49ers’ quarterback competition.
When asked if Kaepernick’s roster spot was in jeopardy, the first-year San Francisco coach responded, “He’s competing with 
Blaine [Gabbert] to see who our starting quarterback is going to be.”
After the 49ers’ third preseason game last night, Kelly said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, a discussion on cutting ties with the 28-year-old quarterback has not taken place. Kaepernick didn’t fare especially well in his 2016 debut Friday night, but the sixth-year passer would be difficult for the 49ers to release. The 49ers keeping him around after April 1 made his $11.9MM fully guaranteed for this season. That said, the team isn’t exactly operating with a win-now mentality, judging by the league-most $46.6MM the 49ers possess in cap space. By waiting until 2017 to part with Kaepernick, the 49ers would only have to eat $4.9MM in dead money.
Kaepernick would earn an additional $2MM this season by being on San Francisco’s roster for nine games, but again, the team operating this far under the cap might not make his pay-as-you-go contract an issue for this season. But coupling the money and a potential controversy surrounding a player who as of now doesn’t look to be slated to start may become an issue for 49ers management.
Kelly voiced support for the embattled quarterback’s decision to make a racially themed statement by not standing for the anthem, one he also made to much less fanfare last week in Denver — albeit while in street clothes. The 49ers’ statement also recognized Kaepernick’s right not to stand for the anthem. Players are encouraged to stand for the anthem but are not required to do so, the league said in a statement Saturday.
“We recognize his right to express his feelings,” Kelly said. “It’s not my right to tell him not to do something.”
Gabbert looks likely to retain the starting job he grabbed midseason after the team benched Kaepernick before soon placing him on IR. The former second-round pick rehabbed throughout the offseason after three surgeries. San Francisco nearly dealt him to Denver, but Kaepernick’s salary proved to be a stumbling block in those talks after. He refused to accept a pay cut to facilitate a deal, with the 49ers also balking at paying $5MM of his salary to do the same.
Christian Ponder and sixth-round rookie Jeff Driskel are the 49ers’ other quarterbacks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Cut Jerome Simpson, Eight Others, Place Eric Rogers On IR
The 49ers released Jerome Simpson and waived eight other players, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (on Twitter). They also placed coveted ex-CFL wide receiver Eric Rogers on IR after he tore his ACL earlier this month.
Here are the other players San Francisco cut today:
- WR DiAndre Campbell
- RB Kendall Gaskins
- DT Darren Lake
- K John Lunsford
- ILB Wynton McManis
- G Blake Muir
- G Ian Silberman
- CB Cleveland Wallace
Originally a Bengals second-round pick in 2008, Simpson has seen action in seven seasons — with Cincinnati from 2008-11, Minnesota from 2012-13 and with the 49ers last year — but saw a suspension derail his most recent one. The 30-year-old wideout signed a two-year, $1.73MM deal with San Francisco before last season but saw a substance-abuse policy suspension shelve him for six games. Simpson, who recorded 700-yard+ seasons with the Bengals and Vikings, made just five receptions for 54 yards in 2015.
The 49ers, who have to make four cuts to get to the 75-man limit by the Tuesday-afternoon deadline, do not owe Simpson any guaranteed money.
Rogers, who chose to sign with the 49ers because of Chip Kelly‘s presence, received the most lucrative deal for a CFL refugee since Cameron Wake in 2009. He fielded offers from nearly half the league after re-establishing his stock, one that didn’t initially attract much NFL interest after signing with the Cowboys as a UDFA in 2013.
Gaskins played in nine games for the Niners last season, receiving 16 carries and gaining 38 yards as a rookie.
Chiefs Acquire Kenneth Acker From 49ers
Being set to enter the season without a proven starter opposite Marcus Peters, the Chiefs made a move to acquire some veteran help at cornerback.
Andy Reid announced the team traded a draft pick for 49ers corner Kenneth Acker, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star twee
ts. Acker will join a cornerback corps full of young players like himself, with the Chiefs’ top in-house options being homegrown talents drafted in the past three seasons.
The compensation will be for a seventh-round pick in 2018, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Acker has started more games than any of Kansas City’s other right cornerback options. Opposite the reigning defensive rookie of the year, who plays primarily on the left side, the Chiefs’ options weren’t exactly proven talents. Third-rounders Steven Nelson and Phillip Gaines represent the NFL experience, but Nelson barely played last season and Gaines — a 2014 starter — is returning from a torn ACL. Rookies KeiVarae Russell and D.J. White joined the fray this April as well.
Acker came to the 49ers as a sixth-round pick in 2014 and started 13 games last season. He intercepted three passes, deflected eight and made 63 tackles for the rebuilding team in 2015. He’ll now join one with playoff aspirations.
However, Acker is also coming off a season he finished on IR. A stress fracture in his foot ended his ’15 season, although the former SMU talent still managed to get in 15 games.
Acker was a primary starter for the Jim Tomsula-led Niners, but under new DC Jim O’Neil, his star has fallen a bit. The 6-foot corner came into the weekend behind not only starters Jimmie Ward and Tramaine Brock, but the 24-year-old relocating performer also sat behind rookies Will Redmond and Rashard Robinson — taken in the third and fourth rounds this year, respectively. Per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, Keith Reaser and Chris Davis are expected to join the rookie corners as the 49ers’ primary backups this season.
This is the third trade in the past four years between these franchises. The 49ers sent Alex Smith to Kansas City in 2013, and the teams exchanged disappointing first-round receivers A.J. Jenkins and Jonathan Baldwin later that year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kaepernick On Relationship With Baalke
- When asked to characterize his association with Trent Baalke, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said he and the GM have a “business relationship” (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Further, in response to Baalke’s comment last week that he and Kaepernick broke their months-long silence with a” good conversation,” the signal-caller simply referred to it as a “conversation.”
49ers Sign Ryan Whalen
- 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.