The San Francisco 49ers waived tight end Brayden Willis Saturday to make room for long snapper Jon Weeks on the active roster.
Per the NFL’s transaction wire, Willis went unclaimed. Willis showed positional versatility during the preseason, but he was also a 7th-rounder from ’23 with as many regular-season receptions since then as you and I.
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That means the team can bring him back to the practice squad and potentially elevate him to the active roster for this upcoming week against the Rams. He’s expected to practice with the team after re-joining the practice squad, as he did not leave Australia, per Matt Maiocco.
Willis’s best chance to contribute offensively is at fullback. During this past preseason, he lined up at fullback 15 times. Kyle Juszczyk recently returned to practice after breaking his finger. If Juszczyk can’t perform his usual duties or gets hurt again, Willis is his logical backup — assuming the team would have him on the active roster so he can play special teams.
Juszczyk is entering the final year of his two-year contract. He’s 35. It makes you wonder if the 49ers want to keep Willis around to take over for Juszczyk if this ends up being Juice’s final year as a Niner. In my opinion, Willis offers more out of the backfield than as a tight end. That was likely part of the reason he was waived.
Another reason, and unquestionably the most important, was that George Kittle is ready to go for Week 1. If that were not the case, the 49ers wouldn’t run the risk of waiving a tight end during their game week when they’re playing in Australia. The 49ers must be confident in what they’ve seen from Kittle.
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The masses will spend the next few days talking everything Rams, while we’re less than a year away from Kittle catching all nine of his targets from Mac Jones for four first downs, a touchdown, and 84 receiving yards. Not to mention Kittle being the greatest asset as a blocker in the running game.
Whether he’s catching passes against the Rams weak link, their linebackers, or neutralizing their defensive line, Kittle on the field is one of the biggest net positives for any team. That’ll only increase with Mike Evans and Brock Purdy on the field.
We’ll keep a close eye on how often the backup tight end duo of Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges spell Kittle, since it’ll be his first live action since George’s Achilles injury in the playoffs.
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