Fooch's note: The team also announced nine of their draft picks have signed. That list includes DeForest Buckner, Rashard Robinson, Ronald Blair, Aaron Burbridge, John Theus, Fahn Cooper, Jeff Driskel, Kelvin Taylor, and Prince Charles Iworah. The only draft picks unsigned are Joshua Garnett and Will Redmond.
The NFL can be a cutthroat business and the time for the first round of releases is already upon the league. The San Francisco 49ers signed 12 undrafted free agents (UDFAs), with the full list at the bottom of the page. To make room for the UDFAs as well as their 11 draft picks, the 49ers released four players to get to the 90-man roster maximum. Those four players are K Corey Acosta, RB Kendall Gaskins, QB Dylan Thompson and OL Jordan Devey.
With Carlos Hyde and Mike Davis out with injuries, Gaskins was given a shot at the end of the 2015 season, after he was promoted from the practice squad. He ran the ball 21 times for 55 yards in four games for an average of 2.6 yards per carry. The 49ers will move forward with veterans Hyde, Davis, Shaun Draughn, DuJuan Harris, Jarryd Hayne and draft pick Kelvin Taylor.
Dylan Thompson signed with the 49ers last year as a UDFA. He opened his rookie year on the practice squad, and was promoted to the 53-man roster after Colin Kaepernick was placed on injured reserve. In the preseason, he completed 24 of 40 passes for 277 yards and a passer rating of 76.8. The acquisition of Thad Lewis who has was previously with the Eagles, and 6th round draft pick Jeff Driskel out of Louisiana Tech left no room for the second year quarterback on the roster.
We learned about Acosta's release Thursday evening. The Southern Mississippi kicker spent the 2015 offseason and training camp with the team, before being released as part of final roster cuts. With the re-signing of Phil Dawson, and the addition of UDFA John Lunsford from Liberty, Acosta became a casualty of the 90-man limit.
The Devey news leaked out Friday morning. The team acquired Devey in a preseason trade with the New England Patriots, sending Asante Cleveland east. Devey was on the Ravens practice squad before joining the Patriots, and was a part of the 49ers failed 49ers offensive line rotation experiment. He was eventually replaced by Andrew Tiller. The 49ers added draft picks Joshua Garnett, John Theus and Fahn Cooper, as well as free agents Zane Beadles and UDFA Blake Muir from Baylor to attempt to build some protection for the as yet unnamed starting quarterback.
The UDFA signings include:
Wide receiver
Devon Cajuste, Stanford
Bryce Treggs, Cal
Offensive line
Blake Muir, Baylor
Norman Price, Southern Mississippi
Defensive line
Alex Balducci, Oregon (will also get work on offensive line, per Chris Biderman)
Demetrius Cherry, Arizona State
Darren Lake, Alabama
Outside linebacker
Jason Fanaika, Utah
Lenny Jones, Nevada
Kevin Anderson, Stanford
Safety
Jered Bell, Colorado
Kicker
John Lunsford, Liberty