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July 7, 2008

Wright in, Olson out at quarterback

What is it about the 49ers and University of Miami quarterbacks who hail from the East Bay? Today the 49ers claimed and were awarded rookie QB Kyle Wright off waivers from the Vikings. To make room for the former Hurricane passer, the 49ers waived first-year QB Drew Olson.

Wright played high school football at Monte Vista High in Danville. Another former 49er passer, Ken Dorsey, is from Orinda and played collegiately at Miami. Olson, a UCLA alum, went to Piedmont High School in the East Bay.

Wright (6-3, 220) was signed by Minnesota as a rookie free agent in April following the draft. He was waived by the Vikings last week. Wight finished his final season at Miami by passing for 1,747 yards with 12 touchdowns and rushing for 66 yards and three touchdowns.

It's hard to imagine big things from Wright. After all, he hardly lasted two months among a less-than-stellar group of Minnesota quarterbacks. The Vikings currently have four passers -- veterans Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte, Brooks Bollinger and rookie John David Booty -- and it appears that Bollinger beat out Wright for the opportunity to be QB No. 4 in training camp. The Vikings roster is at 80, the maximum number of players they can take to camp.

Olson was signed to the 49ers practice squad in late November and was signed to the 53-man roster for the season-finale at Cleveland due to the injuries to Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer and Shaun Hill. Olson served as the backup to Chris Weinke in the Browns game but did not see any action.

-- Matt Barrows

Posted by Matthew Barrows at 2:46 PM | Comments |