The San Francisco 49ers announced some Saturday morning moves signing wide receiver Chris Thompson and defensive lineman Jay Bromley. To make room, the 49ers waived wide receiver Max McCaffrey and placed Kapron Lewis-Moore on injured reserve.
Thompson is a second-year player who played at the University of Florida. He was signed by the Houston Texans in 2017 as an undrafted free agent. He saw action in 2017 playing in 13 games and as a punt returner and kick returner with an average of 6.5 yards per return on punts and 21.7 yards per return on kicks.
Thompson was waived in 2018 during final roster cuts and did not play in the NFL during the season. He did, however, play in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football for the Orlando Apollos.
Bromley was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2014 draft. He started in four games in 2015, his only starts for his career. In 2018, he played in two games for the New Orleans Saints before going on injured reserve. He has two career sacks and 80 tackles over a five-year career.
Lewis-Moore signed a futures contract in early 2019. Maybe the 49ers knew he wasn’t going to make the team this year, but wanted to keep him around, so they stashed him on IR with a groin injury per Matt Barrows. The team can still release him with an injury settlement. McCaffrey has bounced back and forth with the 49ers so another cut isn’t too much of a surprise, especially when you see the talent loaded up at the position.
Both wide receiver and defensive line are positions with incredible depth this year. Both players had an uphill battle to make the team and the new signings won’t fare any better. Wide receiver is a position where one or two 2018 starters will be looking for a job in 2019. Given that Thompson is coming in late, he’s going to have to really wow the coaching staff to not be starting in Game 4 of the preseason. Defensive line has seen the emergence of Jullian Taylor and Kentavius Street among others.