The 49ers have released 27-year old WR Brandon Jones.  Jones played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Niners last season and he only caught 1 pass for 18 yards.  Jones has now played in 59 games (27 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 113 passes for 1,398 yards (12.4 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 6 times for 76 yards (12.7 ypc) in his career.  Jones will hook on with some team soon but the 49ers will be a better team in 2010 without him on it.

The San Francisco 49ers lose CB Will James (high ankle sprain) and rookie PR/KR/WR Kyle Williams (sprained big toe) for a while.  James is likely to miss the next 4-6 weeks while Williams is likely out six weeks.  James had 1 tackle and 1 interception against the Colts this weekend and he is expected to have a big role for the Niners this year.  Williams returned 1 punt for 36 yards, 2 kickoff for 42 yards and he caught 1 pass for 8 yards in the pre-season opener.  He was going to have to fight for his roster spot so this injury might have cost him a job with the Niners.

The 49ers have signed 30-year old RB Brian Westbrook to a 1-year, $1.25 million dollar deal with another $1.25 million bucks in incentives.  Westbrook played in 8 games (7 starts) with the Eagles last season and he carried the ball 61 times for 274 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 25 passes for 181 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Westbrook has now played in 107 games (85 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,308 times for 5,995 yards (4.6 ypc) with 37 TD runs.  He has also caught 426 passes for 3,790 yards (8.9 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  This was a great signing for the Niners as Westbrook will be Frank Gore’s top backup as long as he can stay healthy.

The 49ers have traded 23-year old DT Kentwan Balmer to the Seahawks for a 6th round pick in 2011.  Balmer played in 11 games for the Niners last season and he had 12 tackles.  He has played in 27 games in his two years with the Niners and he had 19 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  The Niners used a first round pick on Balmer in 2008 so they have to consider him a huge bust especially when you consider that they didn’t mind trading him to a team in their own division.

The 49ers have lost 30-year old starting center Eric Heitmann for the next 6-8 weeks after fracturing his left fibula in practice.  This is a big blow to the Niners.  Heitmann started all 16 games for the 49ers last season and he has played in 119 games (114 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL.  Luckily the Niners have some depth on the O-Line as David Baas will battle Tony Wragge for the starting center job until Heitmann is ready to return to action.  Baas started all 16 games at guard for the Niners last season.  He has played in 76 games (38 starts) in his 5 years in the NFL.  Tony Wragge played in 15 games (0 starts) for the 49ers last season.  He has played in 52 games (15 starts) in his six years in the NFL.  My money is on Baas to be the starting center until Heitmann is ready to return to action.