The 49ers kept reshuffling the deck Thursday morning, and this time the move was built around the offensive line. San Francisco signed Kion Smith to a one-year deal and waived wide receiver Colton Dowell as the team keeps managing a training camp roster hit by injuries.
The timing says plenty about where the pressure is right now. Roughly 20 players are dealing with some kind of physical issue across the active 90-man roster, and the 49ers spent Wednesday auditioning five free agents at their practice facility.
That group included offensive guards Braden Daniels and Smith, offensive tackle Ryan Mosesso, and wide receivers Kristian Wilkerson and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Peoples-Jones had the most name recognition after his 839-yard season with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, but San Francisco chose to reinforce the line instead.
Smith gives the 49ers a needed body inside. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound lineman helps cover for the recent absences of veteran interior lineman Brett Toth, who missed practice with an undisclosed injury, and rookie tackle Carver Willis, who entered concussion protocol.
A former undrafted free agent out of Fayetteville State, Smith has been in the league since 2021 and spent the last several seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He’s logged 201 offensive snaps in his career, with most of that work coming last season when he opened the year with three straight starts at right guard. His run there was uneven - solid in the first two games before he had a rough outing against the Buffalo Bills’ pass rush - but his background in a fast-paced, zone-blocking system fits what Kyle Shanahan wants to do.
Dowell’s departure was the corresponding move. The Titans made him a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he had been trying to earn his place on San Francisco’s depth chart this offseason. But with the 49ers having added Deebo Samuel and KhaDarel Hodge to help steady a receiver group dealing with Ricky Pearsall’s season-ending knee surgery, there wasn’t room for Dowell.
This is only the latest turn in a busy stretch of roster churn for San Francisco. The team has also brought in edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo and moved on from veterans Kevin Givens and Cameron Sample. With the preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans set for August 13, Smith should get immediate chances to practice, show what he can do, and make his case for a spot on the 53-man roster.
In Other News...
49ers Fans Just Got A Tough Update On A Familiar Voice
Greg Papa has been one of the more familiar voices in Bay Area sports for years, and 49ers fans have long heard him across different corners of the local scene. The longtime broadcaster, known for his play-by-play work with multiple Bay Area professional teams, is now set to be off the air calling games in 2026, a notable shift for a personality so closely tied to the regions sports chatter.
Papas absence comes amid a stretch of change around his career and his health, which has kept him out of the usual public rhythm for a while. For listeners who have associated him with game days and midday radio alike, the bigger question now is what this next chapter looks like, and how much of that familiar presence will return in any form. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Camp Just Took Another Hit As Depth Concerns Grow
The injuries have started to pile up quickly enough in Santa Clara that the 49ers are already leaning deeper into the roster than they would prefer this early in camp. Several wide receivers have been sidelined, and the club has had to balance those absences with rest days for key veterans like Nick Bosa as it tries to get through practice while also keeping an eye on the 2026 preseason schedule.
One of the more notable setbacks has come on the offensive side, where Kyle Juszczyk has been dealing with a hand issue at a time when San Francisco can least afford to lose another dependable piece. The roster churn has already pushed the front office to add help in the form of KhaDarel Hodge and Ogbo Okoronkwo, a reminder that camp depth is being tested before the real work of the season even begins. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Pass Rush Plan
Maxx Crosbys latest comments seemed to shut down any lingering fantasy of a Bay Area reunion, and the 49ers responded in a way that said plenty about where their pass rush stands. Rather than waiting around on a big swing, San Francisco has leaned into the group it already has, with Nick Bosa still the headliner and Mykel Williams part of a young defensive core expected to play real snaps this season.
The move suggests the 49ers are content to keep building around their internal options and a veteran depth piece, rather than chase a high-profile outside addition. For a defense that has long been defined by pressure up front, the message is pretty clear: the plan is to develop what is in-house and trust that the rotation can hold up, even if the bigger-name pursuit is off the table. [Read more 🡒]