The San Francisco 49ers announced on Thursday they have waived/injured offensive lineman Ben Gottschalk. The second year offensive lineman suffered a foot injury in practice earlier this week. Jim Tomsula said Gottschalk underwent a procedure but did not have an update at the time. If Gottschalk clears waivers, he would revert to the 49ers injured reserve list. The team could also come to an injury settlement if the injury is not something that would otherwise cost him the full season.
The move will give the 49ers an open roster spot. There is plenty of fan chatter about free agent guard Evan Mathis. News reports indicate he wants $5.5 million. The 49ers have some cap space, but have to save space for Aldon Smith's roster bonuses. One option would be to give Mathis an incentive-laden deal, or wait for his demands to come down.
Of course, I also think that if the 49ers were really interested in adding him at this point, they would have done so. The team seems content for now seeing how this current offensive line group can gel. But with a free roster spot, it will be interesting to see what they do with the free roster spot.