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The San Francisco 49ers have made the first of what should be multiple roster transactions. The team announced they have waived WR/TE Chris Harper. The 49ers signed him to a three-year contract after the Seattle Seahawks waived him in their final roster cuts. The 49ers gave him $202,000 in guaranteed money as part of the deal, so they will take a dead money hit with that.
The 49ers were hoping to turn Harper into a bit of a Delanie Walker type utility player. That obviously didn't quite pan out, although the team could still elect to sign him to their practice squad. Harper was a fourth round pick in this last draft, which means he will go through waivers. If he clears waivers, he becomes a free agent and can either join the 49ers practice squad, or ply his trade elsewhere.
The more important part of this news is the fact that it opens a roster spot. The 49ers are likely going to use that roster spot for a defensive lineman. Glenn Dorsey could still conceivably play on Sunday, but after sitting out practice on Wednesday, I would not expect him active on Sunday. Vic Fangio met with the media and indicated they would see what he could do today in practice. I suspect he will be listed as DNP once again.
Fangio said the team would consider activating one of Quinton Dial, Mike Purcell or Tank Carradine, but they could wait until Saturday to make this decision. The team might wait that whole time to announce a decision, but this move makes it that much more likely that a backup will be activated. The team has until November 5 to make a roster decision on Dial and Tank. If the 49er promoted Purcell from the practice squad, they would likely have to waive him later to clear roster space.