The 49ers have announced a group of eight undrafted rookie additions to their roster.
Punter Jack Bouwmeester is part of the group. Bouwmeester grew up in Australia and spent three years at Utah before transferring to Texas in 2025. He averaged 44.5 yards per kick and joins Corliss Waitman as punter options for the Niners.
The 49ers are also signing North Carolina State wide receiver Wesley Grimes and Notre Dame wideout Will Pauling. They made De’Zhaun Stribling their top draft pick, so they’ll have three rookie receivers at practice in the coming weeks.
Penn State tight end Khalil Dinkins, Tennessee defensive lineman Bryson Eason, Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara, Notre Dame safety Jalen Stroman, and Illinois defensive lineman James Thompson are the other new Niners.
The Commanders have “significant interest” in signing Brandon Aiyuk if San Francisco releases the wide receiver, according to a report Saturday. 49ers General Manager John Lynch, though, made clear the team has no intention of doing Aiyuk any favors.
The 49ers are holding out for a trade.
“No new update right now,” Lynch said Saturday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “We’re available. Give us a call.”
Aiyuk last played in a game on Oct. 20, 2024, when he tore an ACL and a MCL in his right knee. The relationship between the team and the player fell apart after that, and the 49ers voided the guaranteed money in November due to his unwillingness to rehab at their facility.
The 49ers have moved on from Aiyuk, although he’s still on their roster, and they are in no rush to cut him.
“He’s an extremely talented player,” Lynch said. “He’s been an extremely effective player in our league. The situation didn’t work itself out here. That’s not to say that it can’t be rekindled somewhere else. And we’d be happy to do something with anyone, if the opportunity presented itself.”
When asked directly about a timeline for a potential release, Lynch was clear: “Not anytime soon.”
49ers General Manager John Lynch said before the draft that he’s had discussions with teams about a potential trade involving wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and that he believes there’s “a chance” that a deal comes together.
The Commanders reportedly hope that’s not the case. Lynch said after the season that it was safe to say Aiyuk has played his final snap for the Niners and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Commanders have “significant interest” in signing Aiyuk if the 49ers release him.
The 49ers are less likely to do that as long as they think the Commanders might pivot to making an offer and they voided the remaining guarantees on Aiyuk’s contract, so there’s no particular time pressure for them to make a move at this point in the calendar.
Washington has frequently been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Aiyuk. He and quarterback Jayden Daniels were teammates at Arizona State and the team has space for a complement to Terry McLaurin in their receiving corps. They drafted wideout Antonio Williams in the third round on Friday and also have Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown, Van Jefferson, and Jaylin Lane at the moment.
There aren’t many, if any, in the NFL who love adding a third-round running back more than Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers have done it again, selecting Kaelon Black out of Indiana with the No. 90 overall pick on Friday night.
Black spent four years at James Madison before following head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana for the 2024 season. While he wasn’t a starter in the Hoosiers’ championship season of 2025, he still rushed for 1,039 yards with 10 touchdowns — leading the team in the latter category.
In his 56 career collegiate games with 15 starts, Black rushed for 2,595 yards with 17 touchdowns while catching 55 passes for 528 yards with six TDs.
He’ll now join a San Francisco team that has had plenty of success with running backs during Shanahan’s tenure as head coach.
The Browns have acquired pick No. 58 in the second round from the 49ers.
With that selection, Cleveland has drafted safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren out of Toledo.
Despite playing at a smaller school, McNeil-Warren became one of the top safeties in this year’s class. He appeared in 48 games with 26 starts for Toledo, tallying five interceptions, 15 passes defended, nine forced fumbles, and a sack.
He’ll now stay in Ohio to start his pro career.
The Browns sent No. 70 and No. 107 to the 49ers in exchange for No. 58 and No. 152 to complete the deal.
