From: timr@sco.COM (Tim Ruckle)
Subject:  49ers Roster (more or less) Settled
Organization: The Gifted and the Damned
Date: Sun, 06 Sep 1992 11:11:21 GMT
Summary: DeLong Signs, Sydney & Pollard gone, Montana on IR
Keywords: say it ain't so Joe...


The 49ers gambled last Tuesday, waiving Harry Sydney, their special
teams captain and reserve fullback.  They lost.  Sydney was picked
up by Green Bay and will play for his old offensive coordinator
Mike Holmgren.  When Sydney was being pursued by the Packers and
Minnesota as a Plan B free agent last spring, the 49ers told him
that if he remained with them he'd have a spot on the team.  If
he had cleared waivers they probably would have reclaimed him, but
now he will finish out his career elsewhere.  Sydney sounded 
disappointed but philosophic about the move--he is 33-years old and
is probably playing in his last season.

Darryl Pollard, a two-year starter at left corner who missed the
'91 season after suffering a broken ankle, had been fighting it
out for a starting job this year.  The 49ers asked him to take a
$200,000 pay cut (from $653,000) to stay on the team.  Pollard
was not pleased about that prospect (to say the least).  He was
placed on waivers and was lost to the Buccaneers, where he has a
good chance at winning a starting job from Plan B signee Milton Mack.
Pollard was making more money than both Eric Davis and Merton Hanks
combined (who were listed ahead of him in the depth chart).

Veteran safety Todd Bowles, who was also asked to take a pay cut
or be waived, returns as a backup to the Redskins (where he was
the starting free safety from '87-90).  In Bowles case the 49ers
wanted to trim his salary from $400,000 to $300,000.  Being claimed
on waivers means that all three will continue at their old salaries.

Also waived were linebackers Reggie McKenzie, Martin Harrison, and
Ilia Jarostchuk; offensive linemen Tom Neville and Ricky Siglar;
defensive linemen Matt LaBounty and Greg Joelson; wide receivers
Odessa Turner and Mark Seay, and punter Joe Prokop.  Three players
who cleared waivers were brought on the roster: Harrison, McKenzie,
and Turner.  Safety Johnnie Jackson, who was released last week,
was brought back after renegotiating a contract which calls for
a reduction of his former salary of $512,000.

The 49ers named the first four members of their five-man practice
squad (all players that had been released by them): receiver Mark
Seay, cornerback John Robert Holland, and defensive ends Matt LaBounty
and David Wilkins.  Rookie free-agent punter Klaus Wilmsmeyer, who
was released by Tamba Bay, was brought in for a tryout and then
placed on the practice squad.  According to Seifert he will be
added to the roster and punt for them in tomorrow's game against
the Giants.  Wilmsmeyer punted seven times for the Bucanneers in
the exhibition season, with a 42.6-yard average (Prokop averaged
only 33.4-yards on eight attempts).

Cornerback Alan Grant, who played two years for Indianapolis, was
claimed on waivers by the 49ers.  Grant lost out to the Colts'
Cornell Holloway.  He will likely be tried out as a kick returner
as well, and is due to make $150,000.  (less than 1/4 of what
Pollard will make...no trend here, is there? ;^)

The big news this week was Joe Montana being put on injured reserve.
Already there is talk that he wants to be traded after this season.
Under NFL rules all players placed on IR after the final cut are
ineligible to practice or play for four weeks.  Montana, already
miffed that Young was named the number one quarterback, thought he
should be with the team and practicing before that.  Again, I can't
imagine a healthy Montana sitting on the bench, but for now all there
is to do is wait and see.  Personally I think that both Joe and the
media should chill out a bit about all this business.

Also placed on IR were: running back Dexter Carter (bruised shoulder),
backup tight end Wesley Walls (slightly dislocated shoulder), rookie
defensive end Mark Thomas (leg and back problems), wide receiver Ron
Lewis (broken hand) and cornerback Kevin Lewis (severe concussion).
A team may re-activate up to five players off of IR on free moves,
after which any additional activations will require players to clear
waivers.

Linebacker Keith DeLong, the first-round draft choice and two-year
starter who sat out all pre-season, agreed to a one-year deal for
$475,000 and a potential $85,000 more in bonuses.  DeLong had his
thumb operated on twice since last season, and just had a cast removed
recently.  While he practiced for the first time this week he still is
not healed up sufficiently to play.  Bill Romanowski has been moved to
the inside to take DeLong's place.  John Johnson, a second-round draft
choice who didn't look so good last season but has been performing very
well in this pre-season, will start at the outside spot vacated by
Romanowski.  Michael Walter is the likely starter at the other inside
spot.  Tim Harris inherits the "elephant" outside linebacker role, that
of primary pass-rusher vacated by Charles Haley.

Kevin Fagan, coming off knee surgery, had his first full-pad practice
this week.  Coach Seifer said he was impressed by what he saw of him,
``There were almost two or three fights with him out there.''  However,
Dennis Brown will likely start in place of Fagan at right defensive end
for now.

The secondary is pretty much set, with Don Griffin still solid at his
right corner position.  He will also likely start returning punts now
that both Lewis' are out.  Eric Davis has won the spot at left corner.
Rookie Dana Hall will get his chance to prove himself in real game
situations at free safety.  David Whitmore--another new starter--has
beat out newcomer Plan B signee Thane Gash for the strong safety spot.
But the "starting" secondary has become more and more meaningless over
the years with the advent of so many of the situational substitutions.
Gash will likely play many running downs right away, and the backup
cornerbacks substitutes will certainly replace some linebackers on many
of the passing situations as well.  Even so, the 49ers' secondary is
the one place where their "rebuilding" has been most in evidence, and
it's the primary place where there exhists the biggest question marks
concerning the prospects of this '92 team.

who's gunna start for the Giants?  maybe it'll be Simms, and Hall can
get in his face a la Lott and we'll win with the last second Cofer
field goal...

-timr

--
Even before I got here, I thought he was Dr. Strange--a guy whose physical
attributes aren't superhuman, but he's a magician.  He works magic.  When
even the mightiest superheroes can't get the job done, they call in Dr.
Strange.
                    --comic book collector, aspiring writer, and backup
                      tight end Jammie Williams speaking about Joe Montana