ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

49ers Player Released on Cutdown Pos. Current Team Capacity Brit Miller RB 49ers Practice Squad Kory Sheets RB 49ers Practice Squad Alex Boone OL 49ers Practice Squad J.J. Finley TE 49ers Practice Squad Dobson Collins WR 49ers Practice Squad Dominique Zeigler WR 49ers Practice Squad Terrail Lambert DB -- -- Matt Spanos OL -- -- Pannel Egboh DL -- -- Khalif Mitchell DL -- -- Bill Rentmeester RB -- -- Jacob Bender OL -- -- Kyle Howard OL -- -- Jay Moore LB -- -- Justin Roland LB -- -- Mark Washington LB -- -- Joe Toledo OL -- -- Bear Pascoe TE -- -- Maurice Price WR -- -- Eric Green DB -- --

The tough decisions teams face in reducing their rosters to 53 players sometimes aren't so tough.

"The 49ers released Kory Sheets!" loses some of its drama when Sheets quietly re-signs to the 49ers' practice squad after none of the other 31 NFL teams submit a waiver claim for him.

I've gone through the initial NFC West cut lists -- those players released at the 53-man deadline -- to see which ones have returned to their teams or caught on elsewhere.

The chart shows results for San Francisco.

The 49ers' initial cut list featured only one vested veteran, cornerback Eric Green. The other 19 players had practice-squad eligibility and the 49ers brought back six of them in that capacity.

The remaining 14 players are unsigned.

Offensive lineman Jacob Bender had a tryout with the Seahawks. The Jets showed interest in tight end Bear Pascoe, only to receive another tight end via waivers.

Sheets impressed during the preseason, but the 49ers were stacked at running back with Frank Gore and Glen Coffee. They valued the versatile Michael Robinson far too much to carry a rookie runner on their 53-man roster in his place.