The Rams may have just turned a cut from the 49ers into a very specific kind of storyline for Melbourne.
After San Francisco waived Australian punter Jack Bouwmeester ahead of the preseason, Los Angeles moved in and added him through its international player exemption, which means he won’t count against the 90-man roster. That keeps the Aussie angle alive for the Week 1 matchup between the Rams and 49ers in Melbourne, even if it comes in a different uniform than some had hoped.
There’s still some mystery around what the Rams actually want out of the move. Bouwmeester could be there to push for the punter job, or he could simply give the first NFL game in Australia a little extra local flavor. Either way, his presence gives the matchup a twist that seemed to vanish when San Francisco moved on from him.
For a while, it looked like the 49ers might have a real punter competition on their hands between Bouwmeester and Corliss Waitman. That never really materialized. Bouwmeester was let go before preseason, so he never got the chance to show what he could do in a game setting, and the whole thing ended up looking a lot less like a battle and a lot more like a roster squeeze.
Injuries played a part in that. San Francisco needed bodies at other spots, and carrying two specialists at the same position stopped making sense. That’s the kind of roster decision that can feel small in the moment and sting later if the wrong guy takes off somewhere else.
Waitman brings more experience, but he’s not exactly an elite option. Bouwmeester, meanwhile, could still have the higher ceiling. The 49ers have already had success with an Australian punter before in Mitch Wishnowsky, so there’s at least a familiar path for this sort of move to work out.
If Bouwmeester ends up thriving with the Rams, it would land as the ultimate slap in the face. A punter won’t grab headlines the way a quarterback or linebacker does, but field position and special teams still matter. That’s especially true in a game where the little things can swing the night.
San Francisco did get better on special teams last season. Skyy Moore was strong as a returner, though he is now with the Green Bay Packers. Eddy Piñeiro made a real impact at kicker, especially after the Moody era, and Thomas Morstead handled punting well enough that if Waitman struggles, the 49ers could even look back in Morstead’s direction.
Punter competitions may not be the flashiest part of roster season, but Bouwmeester is suddenly one of the more interesting names in this setup. If he takes off with the Rams - or anywhere else - San Francisco may wind up looking at him as the punter who got away.
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