The 49ers waived quarterbacks Carter Bradley and Tanner Mordecai on Tuesday when they reduced their roster to 53 players.
Both went unclaimed after being waived with an injury designation and subsequently landed on the 49ers’ injured reserve list.
That left the 49ers with Brock Purdy and Mac Jones as their only healthy quarterbacks. Rookie Kurtis Rourke is on the reserve/non-football injury list after undergoing ACL surgery in January.
General Manager John Lynch told reporters Wednesday that the 49ers will sign Adrian Martinez to the practice squad. The Jets cut the quarterback this week.
“He’s en route,” Lynch said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com.
Martinez entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Lions. He had a stint in the UFL with the Birmingham Stallions.
The Jets have started tweaking their 53-man roster.
The NFL announced that they have claimed linebacker Cam Jones, offensive tackle Esa Pole, and tight end Jelani Woods off of waivers. The team will have to make other moves to create space for them.
Jones and Pole were both waived by the Chiefs while Woods was dropped by the Colts.
Jones played in every game for the Chiefs the last two seasons and made two starts, but almost all of his playing time came on special teams. He had 36 tackles in the regular season and two more in the playoffs.
Pole was signed by Kansas City as an undrafted free agent and Woods had 25 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie before missing the last two seasons with injuries.
Wide receiver Malachi Corley’s time with the Jets is up.
According to multiple reports, the Jets will waive Corley on Tuesday as they pare their roster down to 53 players.
That development is not what the Jets had in mind when they made Corley a third-round pick in 2024. There was hope that he’d become a reliable target in the offense after catching 259 passes at Western Kentucky, but he only had three catches as a rookie and his most memorable moment came on a turnover.
Corley was gliding toward a touchdown after taking a handoff against the Texans last October, but wound up letting go of the ball before crossing into the end zone and the Jets lost possession when the ball bounced out of bounds. He’ll be hoping to make more positive memories in his next NFL stop.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin offered updates on a pair of edge rushers recovering from injuries on Monday.
Alex Highsmith did not play in the preseason after suffering a groin injury during a training camp practice, but is back on the field as August winds down and Tomlin made it sound like he’ll be ready to go for the Jets in Week 1.
“I like his level of competition and participation,” Tomlin said, via the team’s website. “I think he was almost a full participant today, and so it’s moving in the right direction.”
Nick Herbig’s outlook is a bit cloudier. He’s been dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered in the team’s second preseason game and Tomlin said “we’ll know as we get closer to it” if Herbig is able to play in the opener.
Rookie quarterback Will Howard has been out with a hand injury and Tomlin said he’s close to making a full return to practice. The sixth-round pick is behind Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph on the team’s depth chart.
Aaron Rodgers wasn’t a member of the Steelers when the NFL schedule was released, but it felt likely enough to happen that most people took note of where the league had the Steelers opening the season.
They’ll be at MetLife Stadium to face the Jets on September 7, which sets Rodgers up to play his former team. During an interview with Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio, Rodgers said he was “thankful for the couple of special moments” he had with the Jets and expressed his wish that “it had gone differently up there” before saying that he wasn’t putting any extra import in facing his previous club.
“Probably nowhere near where it might be made out,” Rodgers said. “A lot has changed over there — coaching staff wise, player wise. Obviously I have friendships over there, but it’s one game out of 17. At 5 o’clock eastern on that Sunday, it’s only going to be on to the next game. That’s just the way it is.”
Rodgers isn’t the only quarterback who will be facing familiar faces in Week 1. Jets quarterback Justin Fields opened last season as the Steelers’ starter, so there will be similar feelings on both sides of the ball.
