GETTY San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch looks on prior to the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California.
It was inevitable that the San Francisco 49ers were going to have to let some players go after the handful of free agent additions recently.
The team has elected to go like for like after bringing in the likes of tight end Jordan Reed and receivers Tavon Austin and J.J. Nelson, with the later two being officially announced as 49ers players on Saturday ahead of the team’s first training camp practice.
Needing to get the roster back down to 80, San Francisco released wide receiver Chris Thompson and tight end Daniel Helm.
Neither of the moves are necessarily shocking, as both were primarily practice squad players during their tenure in Santa Clara, California, with Helm getting on the main roster for just a few weeks of the regular season last year.
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Thompson and Helm’s Background
Between the two, Thompson has the sole appearances in the NFL, during his time with the Houston Texans back in 2017 when he was called in for punt and kick return duty.
Not to be confused with the Jacksonville Jaguars running back of the same name, Thompson came out of Florida after the 2016 season after playing in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.
Thompson never put up significant numbers in any category, though, instead proving to be a jack-of-all-trades for the Gators as a role player.
While Thompson spent time with the Texans, he never broke through with Houston or the 49ers once he joined the team’s practice squad last season.
Helm hasn’t hit the field in his two years after college, in which he initially attended Tennessee before transferring to Duke to finish out his collegiate playing career.
He was a utilized weapon for the Blue Devils, totaling 767 yards and six touchdowns during his final three years in Durham, North Carolina.
However, Helm hasn’t quite found his spot in the NFL yet, and the 49ers’ latest roster means that spot won’t be in Santa Clara, California anytime soon.
Going Forward
In many ways, this is just a pair of expected moves.
The 49ers receiving and tight end groups are relatively crowded at the moment, and with considerable amounts of potential and talent.
The addition of Reed means that players like Helm were going to have the slimmest of chances to earn a roster spot, and it might even mean proven contributors like Ross Dwelley may struggle to make the final 53-man roster when the dust is settled.
The same goes for Thompson as Austin and Nelson arrive, although the receiving positional battles appear to be a bit more spread open compared to other spots around the team.
Expect Reed to be the 49ers’ No. 2 tight end, but it’ll be interesting to see if one or both of Austin and Nelson make the roster this year. Austin’s ability as a returner will give him a very good chance, while Nelson will have to prove it pretty much exclusively as a receiver.
However, both have experience, and the 49ers could be doing much, much worse in terms of figuring out who their final few receiving options will be for the 2020 season.
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Evan Reier is a sportswriter covering the San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com and local sports for the Montana Standard in Butte, Mont. Reach out to him on Twitter at @evanreier and join our 49ers community at Heavy on 49ers on Facebook.