Saints Waive Four Players
The Saints cut bait with four players today, according to The Advocate’s Nick Underhill (on Twitter). New Orleans waived tight end Alex Ellis, linebacker Shayne Skov, offensive 
guard Nate Theaker and offensive tackle John Theus. The move was made to open roster spots for undrafted free agents, which the team has yet to announce.
Theus, who was waived with an undisclosed injury, is the most notable name in the group. The 2016 fifth-round pick was claimed off waivers from the Panthers back in February. The 24-year-old, who also had a stint with the 49ers, has appeared in four career games (one start). His 2017 campaign ended on the injured reserve.
Ellis, Skov, and Theaker all spent the 2016 season on the Saints’ practice squad. Ellis, a former undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, has three career receptions for 11 yards. Besides New Orleans, he’s also spent time with the Titans and Jaguars organizations. Skov, a Stanford product, has 12 career tackles, and he’s had stops with the 49ers, Buccaneers, and 49ers. Theaker, a former undrafted free agent out of Michigan, has yet to appear in an NFL game.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/16/18
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Atlanta Falcons
- S Marcelis Branch
- CB Deante Burton
- OL Daniel Brunskill
- WR Reggie Davis
- TE Alex Gray
- QB Garrett Grayson
- DL Joey Ivie
- DL J’Terius Jones
- DL Taniela Tupou
New Orleans Saints
- LB Adam Bighill
- WR Travin Dural
- TE Alex Ellis
- CB De’Vante Harris
- DE Alex Jenkins
- OL Gabe Ikard
- LB Shayne Skov
- G Nate Theaker
- S Mykkele Thompson
- G Landon Turner
Pittsburgh Steelers
- DE Lavon Hooks
- LB Keith Kelsey
- WR Justin Thomas
- WR Marcus Tucker
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: C Derrick Nelson, DT Kapron Lewis-Moore
- Released: TE Ryan Malleck, S Ronald Martin
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Ryan O’Malley, C Adam Redmond
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Matt Lengel
- Released: TE J.P. Holtz
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Cole Toner
- Released: QB Taylor Heinicke, G Jason King
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Woodrow Hamilton, LB Shayne Skov
- Released: CB Bradley Sylve
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Ethan Cooper, WR Kalif Raymond
- Released: OL Anthony Fabiano
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Jahad Thomas
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Deontae Skinner
- Released: LB Boseko Lokombo
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Alex McCalister
- Released: WR Rashard Davis
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DE Noble Nwachukwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DE Larry Webster
- Released: FB Austin Johnson
NFL Workout Updates: 9/19/17
Today’s workout updates:
Carolina Panthers
- T Laurence Gibson; CB Tevin Homer (Twitter link via Howard Balzer)
Chicago Bears
- QBs Garrett Grayson and Bart Houston; WRs Marlon Brown, Bug Howard, Kyle Prater, Tevaun Smith, Daniel Williams, and James Wright; TE D.J. Tialavea; C Mark Spelman; T Givens Price; LBs Carl Bradford and Shayne Skov; DTs Stefan Charles, Mike Purcell, and Nick Williams (Link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
Dallas Cowboys
- OLs Michael Dunn, Jake Eldrenkamp, Kaleb Johnson, and Jarron Jones; LB Tre’Von Johnson; DT Caraun Reid, CBs Chris Lewis-Harris, JaCorey Shepherd, D’Joun Smith, and Ian Wells (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News)
Green Bay Packers
- QB Jerod Evans; RB Algeron Brown; WRs C.J. Board, Alonzo Moore, and Jordan Williams; TE Ryan O’Malley; DTs Jeremy Faulk and Joey Ivie (Link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DTs Ryan Carrethers, John Hughes, and Cam Thomas (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
Kansas City Chiefs
- LB Garrett Sickels; CBs Makinton Dorleant and Ezra Robinson (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
Miami Dolphins
- LB Zaviar Gooden (Twitter link via Caplan)
New York Jets
- WRs Corey Brown, Josh Huff and Paul Turner; G Robert Myers; DL Stefan Charles, Datone Jones, Alex McCalister, and Joby Saint Fleur; CBs Malik Foreman and D.J. Killings; S Jordan Moore. (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, Caplan, Balzer (1, 2) and Wilson)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Willie Beavers, Wil Freeman, Laurence Gibson, and Max Rich (Twitter link via Caplan and Balzer)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Randall Evans (Twitter link via Caplan)
49ers Reduce Roster To 71
The 49ers parted with 15 players on Friday to bring their roster to 71, per a team announcement.
Waived:
- RB Kapri Bibbs (story)
- OL Andrew Lauderdale
- FB Tyler McCloskey
- WR Tim Patrick
- OL Norman Price
- K Nick Rose
- LB Shayne Skov
- S Vinnie Sunseri
Released outright (vested veterans who are not subject to waivers):
- QB Matt Barkley (story)
- C Tim Barnes (story)
- CB Will Davis
- DL Leger Douzable
- OL Andrew Gardner
- RB Tim Hightower (story)
- WR Louis Murphy
49ers Re-Sign Shayne Skov
The 49ers announced on Thursday that they have re-signed Shayne Skov. It’s a one-year deal for the linebacker.
[RELATED: Agent Says 49ers Wanted Tramaine Brock Back]
Skov spent the last three seasons with the Niners, but he was dropped from the roster in May as the team made way for a host of undrafted free agents. The 6’3″, 247-pound ‘backer has appeared in 24 games for SF with two tackles on defense and 12 tackles on special teams.
Skov has ties to the area as a San Francisco native and Stanford University product. At Stanford, he had 355 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, five forced fumbles, and 13 passes defensed.
Skov will give the Niners another linebacker to evaluate in camp after they dropped injured LBs Donavin Newsom and Jayson DiManche.
49ers Cut 13 Players
The 49ers have released 13 players, including linebacker Jayson DiManche and wide receiver Eric Rogers. Here’s the full list:
- OL Alex Balducci
- S Marcus Ball
- LB Carl Bradford
- LB Jayson DiManche
- TE Je’Ron Hamm
- WR Chris Harper
- LB Wynton McManis
- P Brock Miller
- DL Zach Moore
- NT Mike Purcell
- WR Eric Rogers
- CB JaCorey Shepherd
- LB Shayne Skov
DiManche was just signed on April 7th, so his stint in San Francisco lasted less than one month. We haven’t seen DiManche in live action since 2015 when he appeared in one game for the Browns. Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Bengals.
Rogers, a former CFL standout, was a practice field favorite of Chip Kelly last offseason until an unfortunate injury shut him down for the season. This week, the 49ers signed undrafted Baylor wide receiver K.D. Cannon and that only further crowded the wide receiver position in SF. With Rogers and Harper out of the picture, the team still has nine receivers under contract.
49ers Place LB Shayne Skov On IR
The 49ers have placed linebacker Shayne Skov on injured reserve with a knee injury. To take his place on the roster, defensive back Marcus Ball has been bumped up from the practice squad.
Skov was injured on Sunday as the Niners lost to the Dolphins. The good news is that the linebacker did not tear his ACL and he will not require surgery. Skov suited up for 15 of the 49ers’ 16 regular-season games last year. This year, he appeared in nine of eleven possible games for SF. Playing mostly on special teams, he did not record an official statistic this year.
Ball, 29, spent 12 games with the Saints in 2014, which makes up most of his NFL experience. This year, he briefly hooked on with the Panthers and appeared in one contest. He signed on with San Francisco’s practice squad one week ago and today he gets a crack at the main roster.
The 1-10 Niners travel to Chicago on Sunday to face the Bears.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/16
Wednesday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
- The Seahawks have released fullback Will Tukuafu, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). The 32-year-old has bounced in and out of the Seattle organization since signing there as an undrafted free agent from Oregon in 2010. He played the 2011-13 seasons with San Francisco.
- The 49ers have promoted linebacker Shayne Skov to the active roster from their practice squad, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Skov suited up for 15 of the 49ers’ 16 regular-season games last year.
- The Buccaneers have promoted wide receiver Freddie Martino from the practice squad and waived linebacker Josh Keyes, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Martino has only appeared in one NFL game, which came as a member of the Falcons in 2014. Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter was Atlanta’s offensive coordinator then.
49ers Acquire Rod Streater, Trim Roster To 53
12:25pm: Maiocco tweets that McCray is likely to be placed on waivers following the failed trade.
MONDAY, 9:40am: McCray reportedly failed his physical, and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo indicates (via Twitter) that the deal is off. The safety was originally traded to the Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2018.
The safety is set to go back to the 49ers for the time being. Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (via Twitter) that McCray is recovering from a torn ACL and is likely to be released.
SUNDAY, 5:30pm: The wideout announced that he’s officially been dealt to the 49ers, while CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco tweets that Streater presumably passed his physical.
SATURDAY, 4:14pm: The 49ers announced they they’ve acquired wide receiver Rod Streater from the Chiefs. Streater had spent his career in Oakland before signing with Kansas City, and now he’ll head back to the Bay Area with a chance to make an impact in a depleted WR corps.
San Francisco also announced that they’ve traded safety L.J. McCray to the Seahawks. The compensation involved in both deals has not been announced.
Cut:
- DL Garrison Smith (Twitter link via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area)
- DL B.J. McBryde (Twitter link via Maiocco)
- DT Demetrius Cherry (Twitter link via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee)
- LB Corey Lemonier (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com)
- WR Devon Cajuste (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle)
- RB Kelvin Taylor (Twitter link via Schefter)
- TE Je’Ron Hamm (Twitter link via Branch)
- LB Shayne Skov (Twitter link via Branch)
- OT Colin Kelly (Twitter link via Maiocco)
- WR Dres Anderson
- OL Alex Balducci
- OL Fahn Cooper
- QB Jeff Driskel
- RB DuJuan Harris
- CB Prince Charles Iworah
- OL Norman Price
- LB Marcus Rush
- WR Bryce Treggs
- WR Ryan Whalen
- WR DeAndrew White
Lemonier was the 49ers’ third-round pick in 2013, but he never made much of an impact in San Francisco. In 42 games (two starts), Lemonier picked up 37 tackles and a sack.