Ravens writer Aaron Wilson shot out a tweet last night that the 49ers had worked out tight end Cody Slate. There is no word on if this workout happened yesterday, last week, or whenever, just that it happened. Earlier in the week, Coach Harbaugh said that Delanie Walker would get looked over on Wednesday. He broke his jaw against the Seattle Seahawks and has been dealing with a wired jaw and a liquid diet since.
There has been no word on Walker's status yet, but I would imagine some kind of word soon. In the meantime, this work out of Slate would seem to indicate at least preparations for a worst case scenario. If Walker has to be placed on injured reserve, the 49ers will be looking at either Konrad Reuland from the practice squad, or a host of options in free agency. I still think Reuland is the replacement, but it will be interesting to see how tryouts play out.
If you have never heard of Slate, he finished his career at Marshall University as the team's all-time leading receiver among tight ends, finishing with 199 career receptions for 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 after tearing his ACL late in his senior season. Scouting reports from around the draft seem to indicate he has some H-back potential. Given the 49ers use of Delanie Walker in a multitude of roles, Slate could be an intriguing option. If the 49ers decided to sign him I wouldn't be expecting a Walker-esque performance, but there seems to be some upside with him.