49ers sign six players to reserve/future contracts

The San Francisco 49ers have begun taking care of some business as they begin building their roster for training camp. The team announced they had signed six players to reserve/future contracts. The group of players include DT Lamar Divens, WR Ricardo Lockette, OG Al Netter, LB Nate Stupar, OG Wayne Tribue and OT Kenny Wiggins.

A reserve/future contract basically locks up the player for the upcoming season. A player can sign this kind of contract if he was not on the 53-man active roster at the end of the previous season. Players on the active roster that have contracts expiring do not become free agents until the new league year starts on March 12. In the case of the 49ers deals, they have used two year contracts for some if not all of these deals. Ricardo Lockette tweeted that he had signed a two-year deal. No word on the rest of the team.

The 49ers released some details about the roster history of each player. Divens was signed to the 49ers practice squad on December 26, 2012, where he spent the remainder of the season. Lockette was signed to the 49ers practice squad on September 25, 2012, where he spent the remainder of the season. Netter signed with San Francisco on May 5, 2012, and spent the entire season on the team's practice squad. Stupar was signed to the 49ers practice squad on January 8, 2013, where he spent the remainder of the season.

Tribue originally signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2012. He was released following training camp and then was signed to the Broncos practice squad on September 1. He was later released and was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad on December 17, where he spent the remainder of the season. Wiggins signed with San Francisco on January 31, 2012, and spent the entire season on the team's practice squad.

For comparison's sake, the 49ers signed a handful of players to reserve/future contracts last year. Kenny Wiggins was part of that group last year. The only notable name from that group was Michael Wilhoite. He was signed to the practice squad at the start of the 2012 season, and then promoted to the active roster on November 30 after Kendall Hunter and Kyle Williams were lost for the season.