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The San Francisco 49ers made a roster move on Wednesday afternoon, signing quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to the practice squad. The team had waived McBLT when they activated Michael Crabtree from the PUP list.
McBLT was originally signed by the 49ers in 2011 as an undrafted free agent. The 49ers released him at the end of camp that year. Later that season, he signed with the Miami Dolphins practice squad. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, spending the entire season inactive on their 53-man roster. He was waived last month when the Vikings signed Josh Freeman, and the 49ers claimed him at that point.
The 49ers head into the stretch run of the season with two quarterbacks, Colin Kaepernick and Colt McCoy. The odds seem pretty good that the 49ers will invest some kind of draft capital in a quarterback next April. I suppose they could try and find an option free agency, but even then, it makes sense to draft a quarterback in the middle to late rounds.
The team has plenty of draft picks, and even though they don't want to waste any, there can be great value in developing a solid backup. That player can push Kap in training camp, provide a safety net if something happened to Kap, and most importantly, potentially net the team some draft picks down the road.
