Getty John Lynch on January 22, 2023 during the NFC playoffs.
The San Francisco 49ers have begun the process of downsizing their 2023 roster.
Not long after releasing Taco Charlton, the franchise waived five more players ahead of the August 29 roster cutoff date as teams finalize the final 53-man rosters. And all five were on defense.
Who Did the 49ers Waive?
At 5:40 p.m. ET, the 49ers announced that Nate Brooks, La’Darius Hamilton, Breeland Speaks, Kyahva Tezino and Spencer Waege were all waived. Here’s a background on all five:
Brooks: The 26-year-old was on his 10th NFL franchise when he latched on with the Niners on August 12 during 2023 training camp.
Brooks began his career as a undrafted free agent out of North Texas in 2019. His first NFL taste was with the Arizona Cardinals — whom he had two stints with.
Brooks’ either stops include the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans (also had two stints) and the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL before signing with the Niners.
Hamilton: The defensive end was a college teammate of Brooks at North Texas. Except he arrived to the league the following year.
He, too, was a UDFA when he joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. After one year with the practice squad, Hamilton was waived following the 2021 NFL Draft only to later be picked up by the Bucs.
Hamilton has had stints on the active roster. In 2021, the Green Bay Packers elevated him ahead of the Week 11 contest versus the Minnesota Vikings. He then was on the field when the Packers faced the Los Angeles Rams the following week. He had one last active roster spot in Week 18 versus the Detroit Lions. He remained with the Pack in 2022 (was elevated for three more games) before being released. He was an August 19 signing for the Niners.
Speaks: The defensive end was once a second round find in 2018 out of Ole Miss.
The Kansas City Chiefs were the first to take him in and was once compared to former 49ers defender Ricky Jean-Francois. Speaks, however, only lasted two seasons with K.C.
His other stops include the Raiders, Cowboys, New York Giants, a second stint with Dallas and the Bills. He’s another who had a stint with the USFL by suiting up for the Michigan Panthers.
Tezino: Tezino is a past Pro Football Focus All-American Honorable Mention out of San Diego State.
With SDSU, he collected 290 total tackles including 150 solo stops. He also delivered 32.5 tackles for a loss and 15.5 sacks.
He’s another who went undrafted out of college. He latched on with the Patriots first after the 2020 NFL Draft. After being released in July, he joined the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. He’s another with USFL ties as he suited up for the Pittsburgh Maulers.
Waege: The long 6-foot-5, 295-pound defender is the lone past Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) representative who was waived.
Waege starred at North Dakota State where he was college teammates with the now former 49ers quarterback Trey Lance. Waege emerged as an Associated Press All-American First Team Selection. He went 78-8 in total games with the Bison.
Waege is the lone undrafted rookie to be waived.
Optimism for Bosa Deal?
Meanwhile, the 49ers Faithful continues to play the waiting game on Nick Bosa and if he’ll end his contract holdout.
ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, though, provided this promising update.
“A little bit more optimism here with his contract with the 49ers because teams I’ve talked to expect him to put up a massive number, somewhere in that $30M+ per year. He’s considered the best pass rusher in the NFL. The 49ers have prioritized that; they know that. They want to get this done. It’s just a deal of this magnitude with a lot of nuances about it, the structure the amount of years, a lot to sort out. So, still some time here,” Fowler said on Sportscenter.
The 49ers now have until September 10 to ensure that Bosa will get his new deal and be ready for the Pittsburgh Steelers.