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49ers follow up latest free-agent additions with swarm of roster moves

The 49ers not only added two offensive free agents, but they subsequently responded with even more roster moves amid training camp injuries.
Peter Panacy
Peter Panacy

Niner Noise

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) and general manager John Lynch (right) / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The back end of the San Francisco 49ers' 90-man training camp roster seems to be a wild place to be.

True, the Niners are dealing with a significant number of soft-tissue injuries in the opening weeks of camp, including wide receivers Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing all missing various amounts of time.

That's led to general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan bringing in several players on tryouts, signing some and often releasing them mere days later.

Just ask wide receiver Quintez Cephus.

With rookie running back Jordan James seemingly dealing with an injury, too, Lynch and Shanahan responded on Thursday by signing running back Ameer Abdullah and wide receiver Andy Isabella, first reported by Fox Sports insider Jordan Schultz.

But that was just the opening line of San Francisco's transactions.

49ers execute a swarm of back-end roster moves to aid injury concerns

Abdullah and Isabella weren't the only two moves the 49ers pulled off.

According to NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco, the Niners also signed quarterback Carter Bradley and wide receiver Marquez Callaway. They also activated offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who opened up camp on the non-football injury list.

To make room for the new bodies, San Francisco cut the recently signed wide receiver, Equanimeous St. Brown, and parted ways with offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez, wide receiver Malik Knowles and safety Jaylen Mahoney.

Mahoney's departure is a small surprise, as he saw modest action last season and figured to be a strong darkhorse candidate to carve out a niche role on the regular-season 53-man roster, particularly with the concerns the 49ers have regarding safety depth.

If there's any solace, the bulk of these signings and departures merely help round out their respective positions' depth charts, ensuring enough bodies are present to participate in practices and during preseason games, which kick off next week.

However, if injuries remain to key players like Jennings, the concern becomes far more alarming.

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Peter Panacy

Peter Panacy

Peter Panacy is a widely published writer, starting with Bleacher Report in 2011 and becoming their 49ers lead columnist, then joining Niner Noise in 2015. He has had exclusive interviews with Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice, as well as current players George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk and Richard Sherman. He has also made appearances on multiple radio stations, including the Bay Area's 95.7 The Game and the Bay Area's KNBR 680.