49ers to re-sign S Antone Exum, place Kentavius Street on the IR

Per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, the San Francisco 49ers have re-signed safety Antone Exum to their 53-man roster. This comes after the team initially kept only three safeties. This was made possible now that the team has placed Kentavius Street on injured reserve.

I wonder if Exum’s versatility gave him the nod over Marcell Harris and Adrian Colbert. Exum also has the experience factor as well. During the preseason, Exum played all over the place. He lined up at both safety spots, in the clot, at linebacker, and even as a SAM LB on the line of scrimmage. He also appeared on the kick and punt coverage teams, and well as both kick and punt return teams. Oh, and the extra point team. This appears to be more of a special teams addition than to the actual roster.

Exum recorded a career-high 40 tackles in 2018, along with a sack, seven passes defended, and 50% of the teams interceptions in the 15 games Exum appeared in, and seven starts with the 49ers last season. So there is also familiarity.

Exum will feel the final spot on the roster, but this doesn’t mean that the team is done making moves, especially with where they stand on the waiver wire.