The 49ers on Friday filled the four vacancies on their practice squad roster. They officially announced the signings of tight end Tanner Hudson, cornerback Dee Virgin, linebacker Rashad Smith and wide receiver Isaiah Zuber.
The 13 signings announced Wednesday were all players that were with the club in the offseason. This batch of four wasn’t with San Francisco at any point during the offseason.
Hudson was signed in 2018 by the Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie out of Southern Arkansas. He spent three years in Tampa Bay and saw time on both the practice squad and active roster. Across three seasons he played in 20 games mostly as a blocking tight end, hauling in only five receptions for 67 yards.
Virgin was signed as an undrafted free agent from West Alabama by the Texans after the 2017 draft. While he didn’t play as a rookie, he signed with the Lions in 2018 and saw action in 21 games, mostly as a special teams contributor. He played in two games for the Lions last year before he was let go. He signed to the Rams practice squad and then joined the Patriots this offseason, but he was let go at final roster cuts.
Smith is entering is his second season after spending his rookie campaign bouncing from Chicago, to Dallas, to Philadelphia. The Florida Atlantic product’s only game action last year came with the Eagles where he had three tackles in two games. The Eagles let Smith go as part of their final wave of roster cuts this offseason.
Zuber was also an undrafted rookie last year. He spent three college seasons with Kansas State and one with Mississippi State. The Patriots added Zuber after last year’s draft and activated him from their practice squad for four games. He showed off some versatility in those four contests with two catches for 29 and a pair of rushing attempts for 21 yards. Zuber was with the Pats this offseason and didn’t survive final cuts.
The four additions fill out the 49ers’ practice squad and gives them 17 players on that roster. Teams typically have 16 players on the practice squad, but the 49ers are allowed 17 since they get an exemption for OL Alfredo Gutierrez who’s with the club via the NFL’s International Pathway program.
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