49ers waive WR Dante Pettis and Jullian Taylor

Kyle’s update, 3:33 p.m.: The 49ers have released DL Jullian Taylor from the reserve-PUP list with a failed physical. So much for having Taylor back this year.

The San Francisco 49ers left Dante Pettis off their injury report on Tuesday after Pettis suffered a shoulder stringer after fumbling Sunday’s kickoff return against the Seahawks. As it turns out, the Niners have their 2018 second-round receiver after they couldn’t find a trade partner.

What a fall from grace for Pettis. A once-promising rookie season was cut short due to injury, and he was never the same since. Pettis came into 2019’s training camp overweight, per general manager John Lynch, and suffered injuries during camp because of it. His 2019 was never the same. There were no injuries this season for Pettis, but it was evident that the relationship between Pettis and Kyle Shanahan was broken and at the point of no return.

I don’t think the situation was handled in the best way. Shanahan could have done a better job of adapting and moving Pettis around. In my eyes, Pettis would have given the team more out of the slot than a guy like Trent Taylor. He offers more athleticism, and it’s not as if Taylor was exactly lighting it up, either.

With that said, Pettis never gave Kyle a reason to trust him. Whether it was lolly-gagging on routes, missing blocks, or playing timid over the middle. Shanahan never had a reason outside of injuries to give Dante more opportunities. The 49ers save $509,000 this year since the third year of his salary isn’t guaranteed. The Niners are off the hook for $1.36M of Pettis’s salary next year.

It’ll be fascinating to see Pettis’s career moving forward and how many chances he gets. The fact that no team was willing to pony up a pick for him says a lot unless they knew San Francisco was going to release him. Where do you think he lands?