The San Francisco 49ers' opening 53-man roster is now complete.
And it doesn't take long to comb through it and realize two of the cut-down transactions included punter Corliss Waitman and long-snapper Jon Weeks.
So, are the Niners planning to never punt? Is center Jake Brendel training to snap way further than normal?
No.
The two moves are almost assuredly transactional—San Francisco will still engineer roster moves over the next few days, likely keeping a player rostered before shifting him to an injury list where he could return at some point later this season. NFL rules allow for only two such transactions before the Aug. 31 deadline. Otherwise, teams risk losing said players who'd fit into that box to waiver claims.
So, what's likely the case is the 49ers are planning to re-sign both Waitman and Weeks after that period.
No, 49ers aren't moving on from Corliss Waitman and Jon Weeks
The Niners likely have a proverbial handshake agreement in place with both specialists, informing them they'll be re-signed after the transactional moves are complete. Since both are vested veterans and can't be picked up via waiver claims, they can refuse any offers from other clubs if they agree to their end of the handshake.
It's roster gymnastics. Expect both to be back within the next few days after some additional moves.
Weeks joined San Francisco as a free agent a year ago, while Waitman was signed last spring and swiftly won the punting competition over undrafted free-agent specialist Jack Bouwmeester.
True, punters and long-snappers are pretty much the two least-flashy positions on an entire football roster, yet that might help explain why the 49ers were comfortable using those two as roster chess pieces to engineer other moves.
Of course, the idea of going into Week 1 without a punter or long-snapper is both humorous and aggressive. Always going for it on fourth down is certainly a strategy that'd be entertaining.
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