49ers notebook: Samuel, Richburg put on injury lists, seven released
The 49ers made a series of roster moves on Tuesday in preparation for training camp, which included adding players to injury lists and releasing seven others in an effort to trim the roster from 90 to 80 in compliance with new COVID-19 protocols.
The most notable moves were placing receiver Deebo Samuel on the active/non-football injury list and center Weston Richburg on the active/physically unable to perform list. Both moves were expected.
Samuel, of course, sustained a Jones fracture in his foot while working out with teammates in Nashville in mid June. Richburg tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during December’s win in New Orleans.
General manager John Lynch this week indicated there’s a chance Samuel misses regular season games but wouldn’t commit to a firm timeline for his recovery. It was initially reported Samuel would be sidelined 10 to 12 weeks, which would fall around the Sept. 13 season opener. But it sounds like the 49ers are going to be cautious with their projected No. 1 wideout.
“The good news is it happened when it happened,” Lynch said on KNBR’s Murph & Mac Show. “So might we be without him a little bit at the beginning of the season? Yes. That timeline, sometimes these things heal at a different rate.”
Samuel and Richburg will continue their rehabs while the club begins its strength and conditioning program next week. The first full-team meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 3 after all players pass their mandatory pair of coronavirus tests and physicals.
Veterans reported to the club’s facility on Tuesday for their first tests after quarterbacks, rookies and other players took their first tests last Thursday and their second tests Monday.
Teams have the option of trimming their rosters from 90 to 80 by August 16. The new coronavirus protocols say that teams with 90 players on their rosters must use split-squad rules, meaning only half the team could be in the facility or on the practice field at once. Full-team work is allowed if rosters are reduced to 80.
Other players added to the active/physically unable to perform list (PUP): defensive end Ronald Blair III, receiver Shawn Poindexter and defensive linemen Kentavius Street and Jullian Taylor. Joining Samuel on the active/non-football injury list (NFI) is defensive back D.J. Reed, who tore a pectoral muscle this offseason.
Players on active PUP and NFI don’t count towards the offseason roster total and can be activated at any time. If they remain on the lists after final cuts, which typically happen a week before the regular season opener, they must remain on those lists for the first six weeks of the regular season. If not, they must be added to the active roster, released or placed on injured reserve.
Additionally, the team waived five players: linebacker Joey Alfieri, cornerback Jermaine Kelly, safety Derrick Kindred, offensive lineman Ray Smith and undrafted rookie quarterback Broc Rutter.
Undrafted receiver Chris Finke was waived with an injury designation and defensive lineman Willie Henry Jr. was waived with an illness designation.
Lynch initially ‘not happy’ with Mostert’s trade demand
Running back Raheem Mostert’s agent, Brett Tessler, on Monday tweeted the two sides agreed to revise his contract to ensure he’ll stick around after requesting a trade earlier this month.
According to multiple reports, Mostert will have a chance at making an additional $2.75 million thanks to a bonus and improved incentives package, allowing him to potentially double his initial salary of $2.6 million. Mostert signed a three-year deal before last offseason when he was a primary special teams player before breaking out as the team’s top rusher.
Lynch indicated Tuesday he wasn’t thrilled when Mostert’s camp requested a trade away from the NFC champs.
“My reaction is, “What the heck are you doing? Come on now.” I was not happy,” Lynch said on KNBR.
Lynch indicated the revised contract was always part of the team’s plan and he regretted the trade demand was made public by Tessler.
“We had to understand Raheem’s a very important player to our team,” Lynch said. “And the way he came on last year was a huge reason as to why we were in the Super Bowl, and our team’s success. We believe in rewarding our players that play well and do well. That’s something that we wanted to do, we had some ideas on how we could do it. Unfortunately, that became public.”
—The 49ers made another procedural move on Tuesday when cornerback Emmanuel Moseley signed his one-year exclusive rights tender. It was a formality after the team tendered Moseley in the spring.
The third-year pro initially joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee in 2018 and will compete to start opposite Richard Sherman at right cornerback.
—Former 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin on Tuesday announced he would opt out of the upcoming season for family reasons. Goodwin was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles during the third day of the recent NFL draft for a sixth-round pick swap.
Goodwin and his wife, Morgan, welcomed their first daughter, Marae, in February after dealing with two miscarriages since Nov. 2017. Goodwin has said he wants to return to the Olympics to compete in the long jump as he did in the 2012 games in London. This summer’s games in Tokyo were pushed back to next summer because of the pandemic.
