Tavon Austin, J.J. Nelson join 49ers' receiver competition in camp

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Veteran wide receivers Tavon Austin and J.J. Nelson were signed Saturday and on the 49ers’ practice field for the team’s first workout of training camp.

Both players signed one-year contracts. The 49ers waived tight end Daniel Helm and wide receiver Chris Thompson to open the roster spots.

“It was awesome to bring in two guys like J.J. and Tavon, two guys who are NFL players who have done things in this league and two guys we’ve always liked,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I liked both of them coming out of college. We’ve liked them at all their stops.”

The 49ers were down three wide receivers from the offseason due to injuries to Deebo Samuel and Richie James, as well as Travis Benjamin’s decision to opt out due to coronavirus concerns.

“We needed to get some more guys in, just for legs, but the fact we got two guys in who have the ability to make our roster, who could have roles on this team with both of their skill assets, made me very excited to get them,” Shanahan said.

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Austin and Nelson will have shots to win a spot on the 49ers’ 53-man roster. This season the NFL increased the practice squads to 16 players per team, six of whom may have any level of NFL experience.

“We didn’t know if we were going to get one or two, but the way they looked at workouts yesterday, they were both in shape,” Shanahan said.

Austin and Nelson arrived in Santa Clara on Wednesday and tested negative for COVID-19 each of the next three days to qualify to be allowed to practice on Saturday.

“They are going to push people to make this team or hopefully they can show they can be a part of this to help us at some time,” Shanahan said.

[RELATED: Shanahan hopeful Deebo will be ready for 49ers' opener]

Austin, 30, is a seven-year pro was the No. 8 overall pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2013. In his career, he has 215 receptions for 2,006 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also has 196 rushing attempts for 1,340 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Nelson, 28, was released by the Raiders in mid-October after missing significant time with an ankle injury. He played his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, where he caught 85 passes for 1,475 yards and 11 touchdowns.

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