HEADLINES

Mitch Wishnowsky

49ers Activate Yetur Gross-Matos, Place Mitch Wishnowsky On IR

November 16th, 2024 at 8:14pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

NOVEMBER 16: As anticipated, both moves have now officially been made. San Francisco has four IR activations remaining on the year. The team’s playoff push will include another stint with one specialist on the sidelines, although the 49ers will have the option of bringing Wishnowsky back before the end of the regular season.

NOVEMBER 15: The 49ers are expected to activate defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and place punter Mitch Wishnowsky on injured reserve with a back injury, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

Gross-Matos was placed on injured reserve on October 5 after suffering a knee injury that required surgery. He returned to practice on November 5 and is eligible to play against the Seahawks in Week 11. Wishnowsky will be sidelined for at least four weeks before he can be activated from IR.

Gross-Matos was a full participant in practice this week, but is still listed as questionable on the injury report since he has not officially been activated yet. The 49ers will be hoping Gross-Matos can play if Nick Bosa is sidelined with a hip injury, though he returned to practice on Friday after missing Tuesday and Wednesday. Bosa is questionable for Sunday’s game.

Wishnowsky’s injury leaves the 49ers down yet another specialist this year. Jake Moody missed a month with a high ankle sprain, and his replacement, Matthew Wright, landed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Anders Carlson then filled in for two games before Moody returned in Week 9.

The 49ers signed former Bears and Packers punter Pat O’Donnell to their practice squad on Wednesday as insurance for Wishnowsky’s back. He will likely be elevated for the game on Sunday, though the 49ers will need to make another move to promote him to the active roster since Gross-Matos will likely be taking Wishnowsky’s spot on the 53.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/23

July 27th, 2023 at 7:46pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed: WR Ty Scott

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: CB Isiah Brown
  • Waived/injured: CB Jordan Perryman

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: LB Blake Lynch

New York Giants

  • Signed: DT Kevin Atkins

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Ben Burr-Kirven was a fifth-round pick by the Seahawks back in 2019, and he transformed into a key special teamer through his first two seasons in the NFL. However, he suffered a knee injury during the 2021 preseason that ended up wiping out that entire season. The issues persisted in 2022, and after spending that year on PUP, he was ultimately released in March. Coach Pete Carroll apparently reversed course and ended up bringing back the linebacker.

“He’s in a little bit of an experimental mode,” Carroll said earlier this year (via the team’s website). “The surgeries that he has had and the process he is going through, he is making progress. He’s always in the weight room with us. He’s always here working with a tremendous mentality. The nerve issues, really intricate stuff going on, so he’s had to have a really good attitude about it to stay in the fight and he is. He’s planning on getting back out there. So, we are going to give him every chance. If he can do it, this is going to be the place that he does it.”

Xavier Henderson was released today with an injury settlement, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The undrafted free agent landed on the physically unable to perform list earlier this week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/23

July 25th, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ben Levine

With a number of teams preparing for the start of training camp, a long list of players were placed on inactive lists today. We’ve compiled all of those and today’s other minor moves below:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Free Agents

Isaiah Wilson hasn’t had an NFL gig since he was released by the Giants in January of 2022. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the free agent lineman was slapped with a three-game suspension, but it’s uncertain what led to the temporary ban. Wilson was a first-round pick by the Titans in 2020 but got into only one game with Tennessee before getting shipped off to Miami. He was waived by Miami after showing up late to his team physical, and his practice squad stint with New York only lasted one season.

Max Garcia is an experienced addition to the Saints OL room, with the veteran having most recently started seven of his 12 appearances with the Cardinals in 2022. The 31-year-old has 59 games of starting experience, although Pro Football Focus was iffy on his production last year (63rd among 77 qualifying offensive guards).

Following a three-year stint in Cleveland, Terrance Mitchell has spent the past two seasons bouncing around the NFL. He got into 14 games (13 starts) for the Texans in 2021, finishing with 60 tackles and 10 passes defended. He spent the 2022 season with the Titans, finishing with 39 tackles in 11 games (five starts). 49ers fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. is set to miss some time with a knee injury, providing Mitchell with an opportunity during training camp.

49ers Extend P Mitch Wishnowsky

September 16th, 2022 at 8:54pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 49ers may be facing long-term questions at the quarterback position, but a key member of their special teams unit will remain in the fold for the foreseeable future. The team announced on Friday that they have extended punter Mitch Wishnowsky on a four-year deal. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that the contract will pay him just under $3MM annually and has a maximum value of $13MM. 

A fourth-rounder in 2019, Wishnowsky has one year remaining on his rookie contract. This new pact will not only represent a sizable increase in compensation relative to his 2022 pay, it could make him the second highest-paid punter in the NFL if it reaches the $3.25MM-per-year mark, behind only Seattle’s Michael Dickson.

The 30-year-old Australian has yet to miss a game so far in his career, and has been consistent across his three seasons in the league. His busiest campaign came in 2020, when he punted 66 times for an average of 46.9 yards, his personal watermark in that regard to date. In addition to punting, Wishnowsky has also handled kickoff duties, doing so 219 times in the regular season.

The Utah alum will now be on the books through the 2026 season, giving San Francisco some long-term stability at one of their specialist positions. Both kicker Robbie Gould and long snapper Taybor Pepper are set to hit free agency at the end of the year; the former’s age (40) in particular could leave his future in doubt. The latter, meanwhile, has just begun his third season in the Bay Area after making appearances with the Packers and Dolphins previously.

In what should be far better conditions than he had to face during the 49ers’ Week 1 loss in Chicago, Wishnowsky will look to help get his team back on track when they host the Seahawks on Sunday knowing that his long-term future is secure.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/1/22

January 1st, 2022 at 4:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the New Year’s Day activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Oli Udoh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bryce Hall

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Draft Pick Signings: 4/30/19

April 30th, 2019 at 8:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The first 2019 draft pick signing commenced Tuesday. Only 253 to go.

  • The 49ers signed their fourth-round pick (No. 110 overall), punter Mitch Wishnowsky, to the CBA-mandated four-year contract. Wishnowsky was the first specialist chosen in this year’s draft. Ranking second in Division I-FBS with a 47.7-yard punting average, the Utah alum earned second-team All-America honors last season. However, Wishnowsky broke into football late; this will be the Australia native’s age-27 season.