The 49ers have signed 30-year old QB David Carr to a 2-year deal.  Carr played in 6 games for the Giants last season in which he completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6%) for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (93.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 27 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Carr has now played in 91 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,346 of 2,251 passes (59.8%) for 14,366 yards with 65 TD passes and 70 INTs (75.2 QB Rating).  Carr has also carried the ball 302 times for 1,331 yards (4.4 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  Carr might get the chance to challenge Alex Smith for the starting job in 2010 as he has a very strong arm and a lot of experience.  If nothing else Carr will likely bump Shaun Hill out of a job.

The San Francisco 49ers have signed 26-year old TE Tony Curtis to a reserve/future contract.  He last played in the NFL in 2008 with the Cowboys.  Curtis has played in 32 games in his major league career and he has caught 11 passes for 50 yards (4.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also made 5 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  Curtis will get a chance next training camp to earn a job as Vernon Davis’ back-up in 2010.

The 49ers have signed 29-year old kicker Shane Andrus to handle the place kicking duties on Sunday.  Ricky Schmitt hurt his groin in practice this week and he will be unavailable tomorrow against the Rams.  Andrus played in 3 games earlier this season for the Buccaneers and he was 0 for 1 on field goals and 6 of 6 on extra points. 

The 49ers have signed 24-year old kicker Ricky Schmitt out of tiny Shepherd College and he might have to start this weekend against the Lions if Joe Nedney is not ready to play due to a groin injury.  Nedney has played in all 14 games for the Niners this season and he has made 17 of 21 field goals (81%) and all 33 of his extra points good for 84 points this season.  It will be interesting to see how Schmitt handles his first NFL game if he has to play because the Niners can’t afford to leave points on the football field.

UPDATE:  Nedney is out for the season so Schmitt will continue to kick.  He was 2 for 3 on field goals in his NFL debut last week and he also made both of his extra points as he finished up with 8 points.

The 49ers have lost starting DE Kentwan Balmer for the year due to a torn right labrum.  Balmer played in 11 games last season for the Niners and he made 12 tackles.  He has now played in 27 games in his two years with the Niners and he has made 19 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  The 49ers have signed DE Baraka Atkins to replace Balmer on the roster.  Atkins played in 9 games for the Seahawks last season and he made 18 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and he had 2 sacks.  He has now played two years in the NFL and he has 29 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 2 sacks.