Marcus

Maxwell

The former NFL Europe star was out of the league last season after bouncing around on practice squads in 2007 and 2008.

Maxwell will have to overachieve to make the 53-man roster.

He has caught 32 passes for 499 yards in nine games, showing off his solid blend of speed and size. The 2005 seventh-round pick has been a practice squader for two years. He has a shot to make the 49ers as their last receiver this year, but is a long shot.

Maxwell showed in Europe that he can play at an extremely high level against non-NFL caliber defensive backs, but his role will likely be minor in Cincy.

The team cut rookie WR Jesse Holley to make room for the NFL Europa star.

He sat out all of minicamps and OTAs with an injured quad. Lelie seems to be ahead of Jason Hill to be San Francisco’s third receiver. The 49ers only plan to keep five wideouts and Brandon Williams will return punts, so Marcus Maxwell, Bryan Gilmore and Taylor Jacobs look like the odd men out.

Lotta good that hot run in NFL Europa did Maxwell. Most of the rest of these players were undrafted rookies. Green had five sacks last season but became expendable when the Niners drafted Jay Moore in the fourth round.

Maxwell showed in NFL Europa that he can produce, albeit against backup-caliber players. He could land on a practice squad somewhere.

The former NFL Europe star became expendable when Baltimore signed Kelley Washington. Maxwell, 26, still has just one career big-league catch.

Since NFL Europe is no longer an option, Maxwell will continue a life of bouncing around practice squads.