The San Francisco 49ers took care of some business on Monday, formally extending offers to nose tackle Mike Purcell and linebacker Carl Bradford. The two players are exclusive rights free agents. They can either sign the tender and play for the 49ers, or not sign and sit out. The tender is likely for near the veteran minimum, although sometimes a team can offer a slight raise.
The 49ers signed Purcell as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He spent the 2013 season on the practice squad, and opened the 2014 season with the practice squad. He was promoted to the 53-man roster midway through the season. In 2015, he was inactive the first eight games, but then active the final eight, including three starts. He was active 15 of 16 games this past season, starting at nose tackle in their base defense after Ian Williams was lost for the year. Purcell will compete for some kind of rotational role behind newly signed defensive tackle Earl Mitchell.
The 49ers claimed Bradford off waivers from the Green Bay Packers last December when they placed Nick Bellore on injured reserve. He appeared in the team’s final two games.
An exclusive rights free agent is a player with fewer than three accrued seasons. If they are on the 53-man roster for at least six regular season games in 2017, they would move on to become restricted free agents next spring.