The 49ers released a running back to make room for Logan Ryan
Kyle’s update, Thursday, 1:31 p.m. PT: The 49ers are bringing running back Tyrion Davis-Price back to the practice squad. The team announced that they’ve re-signed their former third-round pick.
To make room for Davis-Price, the Niners released wide receiver Isaiah Winstead. The 49ers now have two running backs on the practice squad. Davis-Price and Jeremy McNichols. Davis-Price will continue to wear No. 32. Logan Ryan will wear No. 33.
And this is just me thinking out loud, but I wonder if Winstead’s role was to play the scout team version of Mike Evans, DK Metcalf, and A.J. Brown during the previous month. And now that the gauntlet of 6’4 receivers is over, the team can gain more out of Davis-Price’s skill set.
Kyle’s update, 1:55 p.m. PT: Ian Rapoport tweeted that the 49ers waived running back Ty Davis-Price, presumably to make room for the signing of Logan Ryan. TDP had been a healthy scratch every week that McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell had suited up, so there was no real reason to keep a running back around who wasn’t going to get snaps.
In hindsight, the Niners should have used their third round draft pick on a position who could have helped in the third round other than running back. But Kyle Shanahan didn’t know he’d have Christian McCaffrey as a weapon later on that year.
The 49ers are signing veteran safety Logan Ryan, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Ryan started for the New England Patriots for the first four years of his career and was with the Tennessee Titans from 2017 through 2019, where he started 45 games. Ryan moved on to the New York Giants for the next two seasons, where he started a total of 30 games.
Last season, Ryan started six games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As you can see, Ryan has plenty of experience in the NFL.
The 49ers may need to rely on that in the secondary. Tashaun Gipson missed three snaps on Sunday. Throughout the season, there have been random occurrences where a defensive back has had to leave for a play or two.
Isaiah Oliver was the player to come on the field when the starter had left. Perhaps now it’ll be Ryan. Ryan has experience on special teams, which is likely also a reason the 49ers were comfortable signing him. It’s worth noting that Ryan has never missed a tackle on special teams in his career in 699 total snaps.
This could also be a sign that the Erik Harris experiment is over. He played 14 special teams snaps a week ago, one week after the 49ers lost George Odum.