The San Francisco 49ers made it official today as they announced the release of cornerback Nate Clements. That news was immediately followed by word that Clements had signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. The 49ers told Clements he was going to be released earlier in the week, but he was still included on the roster as recently as this morning. My guess is that he was given permission to speak to other teams and the official release came after he told the 49ers he had a deal with the Bengals.
This leaves the 49ers still looking for some kind of cornerback depth as it is unlikely Shawntae Spencer and Tarell Brown will start the season as the #1 and #2 cornerbacks. The current cornerback market includes names like Antonio Cromartie, Carlos Rogers, Chris Houston and Phillip Buchanon among many others.
The 49ers have indicated they plan to be patient with the free agent market so we’ll have to wait and see when the next domino falls. The players can’t participate in practice until the new CBA is finally ratified, which is expected to be around August 4. However, it would be nice to get some players signed to get them playbooks in advance of camp.