Trey Millard, Kaleb Ramsey not activated, will remain on 49ers injured list

The San Francisco 49ers have apparently elected to not activate rookie fullback Trey Millard or rookie defensive tackle Kaleb Ramsey to their 53-man roster. Both players will remain on the injury list, and are ineligible to return until after the season. That also means they will not be able to practice with the team over the course of this final month.

Trey Millard suffered a torn ACL on October 26, 2013. The 49ers used a seventh round pick on him and placed him on the NFI list at the start of training camp. He is a fullback who brings a lot of versatility, including special teams acumen. By remaining on the NFI list all season, Millard will be unable to accrue a season toward free agency. What this means is that if he is healthy next season and plays out the remainder of his contract without a contract extension, he would become a restricted free agent after the 2017 season.

We have had discussions about a contract tolling, in which the team basically pushes the entire four-year contract forward one year. In that case, a player signed through 2017, would instead be signed through 2018. That is NOT the case with Millard. Tolling applies to players in the final year of their contract, or under suspension. Instead, the players were not on the 53-man roster enough games to accrue the season toward free agency. Restricted free agency means the team can tender Millard, and receive compensation if they elect not to match any outside offer. If he were to then sign the tender, he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

Kaleb Ramsey suffered an injury during the 49ers offseason workout program, and opened training camp on the PUP list. By remaining on the PUP list, he actually can accrue a season toward free agency. According to Article 8, section 2 of the CBA, a player on the NFI list will not accrue games toward the season, but it appears players on the PUP list do accrue such games. That means he would be an unrestricted free agency following the 2017 season. Here is the pertinent portion of the CBA:

For the purposes of calculating Accrued Seasons under this Agreement, a player shall receive one Accrued Season for each season during which he was on, or should have been on, full pay status for a total of six or more regular season games, but which, irrespective of the player's pay status, shall not include games for which the player was on: (i) the Exempt Commissioner Permission List, (ii) the Reserve PUP List as a result of a nonfootball injury, or (ii)i a Club's Practice Squad.