Time to Explain All Those 49ers Roster Moves
OK, San Francisco 49ers fans and other 49ers.com readers, we feel like we owe you an apology.
Over the past month, we have filled your 49ers app, Twitter streams, and Facebook feeds with transactions stories.
But not just any transactions… transactions invariably involving three players: special teamers Kassim Osgood and Bubba Ventrone as well as quarterback Josh Johnson.
Anyway, back to the apology. We’re tardy in delivering an explanation for why general manager Trent Baalke and the 49ers brass have made these moves in succession.
In short, doing so essentially turns the team’s 53-man roster into a 54-man roster.
So far, San Francisco has kept Johnson active during the week, ostensibly to give him practice time. Then it has brought either Ventrone or Osgood back into the fold to play on Sundays. (As the third quarterback on the depth chart, Johnson would likley have been inactive and not cracked the 46-man gameday roster anyway.)
The 49ers did exactly this before their Week 6 and Week 7 ballgames; Osgood was cut and re-signed a two-day span before the Nov. 13 St. Louis Rams game, and Ventrone was cut and re-signed in a three-day span before the Nov. 19 Denver Broncos game.
Most recently, with the team enjoying its bye week, Johnson was re-upped, and Ventrone was let go.
Here’s something to consider: Starting on Oct. 29, one day after the NFL’s trade deadline, “players with at least four previous pension-credited seasons are subject to the waiver system for the remainder of the regular season and postseason.”
After the 29th, Johnson, Osgood and Ventrone will no longer became outright free agents if they are cut. Other teams could claim them via waivers.
The 49ers front office will have to decide whether they’ll keep only two of the three players passing through this revolving door or if they’re willing to risk losing one of the three to another team.
While center Daniel Kilgore (season-ending leg injury) potentially being placed on the Injured Reserve List would open up one roster spot, Baalke and Co. will also need to pave the way for the returns of players like outside linebacker Aldon Smith (suspended) and inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman, running back Marcus Lattimore, tight end Garrett Celek and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who are all on the way back from injury.
This transaction stuff is only just beginning, folks.