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The 49ers are not making any major roster moves in light of some of their injuries, but there will be a roster spot opening up. Once the team officially places wide receiver Mario Manningham on injured reserve, they will have an open roster spot. Coach Harbaugh spoke with the media today and it sounds like WR Chad Hall and WR Ricardo Lockette will be competing for that spot.
A year ago, the 49ers were in abysmal shape at the wide receiver position in the postseason. This year, Randy Moss provides much better depth options than some of the receivers hanging around at the end of last season. Of course, there is also A.J. Jenkins who has yet to make an impact in his rookie season. He'll get playing time against the Cardinals, but will something actually come of it?
In addition, the 49ers made a pair of roster moves to fill out their practice squad. They had two open spots following the promotion of linebacker Cam Johnson and release of linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis. The 49ers filled the two spots with defensive tackle Lamar Divens and safety Curtis Taylor. For those that don't remember, Taylor was a seventh round draft pick of the 49ers in 2009.
Here are some facts about both players, courtesy of the 49ers:
Divens (6-3, 340) originally signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2008. He was released following training camp that year and claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Ravens. He spent three years (2008-10) with the Ravens, appearing in five games. Divens was released after training camp in 2011, and was later signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad on December 13, 2011. He then signed with the Tennessee Titans on February 14, 2012, and was later released on August 31. Divens was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad on October 17 of this year, and was later released on October 29.
A 27-year old native of Fayetteville, TN, Divens played two seasons at Tennessee State (2006-07) after transferring from Vanderbilt (2004-05). As a senior, he appeared in 11 games (five starts) for the Tigers, tallying a career-high 43 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Taylor (6-2, 212) was originally drafted by the 49ers in the seventh round (219th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He appeared in 12 games with San Francisco and registered one tackle on defense and 14 special teams stops. Taylor was released following training camp in 2011. He later signed with the Oakland Raiders on January 5, 2012, only to be released following training camp.
A 27-year old native of Bogalusa, LA, Taylor played at LSU where he appeared in 50 games (22 starts) for the Tigers and recorded 112 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 11 passes defensed, five interceptions and one fumble recovery.