49ers waive Ray-Ray Armstrong; activating Tank Carradine for Seahawks game

The San Francisco 49ers have waived linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Friday. The move is being made so the team can activate defensive end Tank Carradine from injured reserve.

Armstrong received plenty of playing time this season following the high ankle sprain of rookie first-round pick Reuben Foster earlier in the year, but has played a lot less as the season progressed.

Armstrong had one or two good games and had the support of the coaching staff early on, but I suspect that had more to do with Foster’s injury and less to do with him actually playing well. I thought he missed several tackles and didn’t look ready to be a starter at this point.

Still, his release is a bit surprising. At the time of his release, Armstrong had played in 424 defensive snaps (57.45 percent) and 109 special teams snaps (37.59 percent). I never got the impression that he was going to stick around into next season, but I didn’t expect his release at this point.

Carradine coming off injured reserve is big news. The big man finally found a position that works for him on the 49ers and went down with an injury, but has plenty of time to earn a new contract before the season is up if he can return to form. He should be in action against the Seattle Seahawks.