The San Francisco 49ers have announced that they have released Zane Beadles on Monday. Beadles was entering the final season of his contract. They clear $3.5 million in cap space, and will carry $583,334 in dead money. John Lynch had the following to say in a statement regarding Beadles’ release:
“Zane is a consummate professional and has represented our organization with exceptional class. He is an unselfish guy who stepped up in a big way for our team last year and we can’t thank him enough for all his contributions to the organization and our community. Zane is just the kind of player and person we would always be open to welcoming back down the road, but releasing him now provides ample opportunity to find the right situation with his next team. We wish him and his family all the best as he moves forward in his career.”
Zane Beadles came to the 49ers in the 2016 season and struggled mightly as the season wore on. In 2017 he found himself doing tackle work in place of an injured Trent Brown and couldn’t quite get things together. It was a foregone conclusion that he probably wouldn’t be brought back, but many wondered if he’d get a chance to compete for the guard spot in 2018 training camp.
In any case, the release makes Laken Tomlinson and Joshua Garnett, the notable participants in the upcoming guard competition returning from last season. Jonathan Cooper was brought in during free agency and Erik Magnuson will be ready to go as well. Additionally, it opens the door for the swing tackle role, which Beadles had previously occupied.
Given Beadles’ struggles last season, the team probably knew that he wasn’t going to make it through training camp and decided to cut bait early.