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49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh met with the media on Monday, and he had a chance to address the NFI/PUP list news surrounding the team. According to Harbaugh, he expects WR Mario Manningham, CB Eric Wright, DT Tank Carradine and DT Quinton Dial back at practice this week.
When the players begin practicing, the three-week clock begins before they have to be back on the 53-roster. Prior to this week, the NFI and PUP list players were not allowed to participate in practice. With the passage of Week 6, the players can begin practicing without going right on the 53-man roster. The team will have to figure out who to release to make room for them, but there is still some time for that.
For now, the 49ers will begin the process of getting some reinforcements. With Glenn Dorsey hurt, and the wide receivers struggling, Quinton Dial and Mario Manningham would seem to be the most likely candidates to get activated sooner rather than later. Dial could provide some depth behind Glenn Dorsey and Tony Jerod-Eddie, but it is worth noting that he hasn't practiced with the team thus far. He has been rehabbing, doing the class work, and observing plenty, but I don't believe he took part in any practices during the rookie minicamp or other offseason activities.
The interesting decision comes when Eric Wright is deemed ready to join the 53-man roster. Is Nnamdi Asomugha cut loose at that point? They could potentially waive Darryl Morris and send him back to the practice squad, but that risks getting him through waivers. Additionally, while Morris is getting some special teams snaps, Nnamdi does not bring anything to the table on special teams. If he has officially been leap-frogged by Tramaine Brock, why do you keep him? And if Eric Wright can provide something for the team, again, why would they keep Nnamdi?
The team gave Nnamdi a chance, and he has had some positive moments. But, I don't think there has been necessarily enough to justify keeping him around any longer when Wright is ready to come off the NFI list.