Highly sought-after undrafted free agent wide receiver KD Cannon, who played college football at Baylor, was signed by the San Francisco 49ers following the 2017 NFL Draft. He was then released on Sunday, the final day of the 49ers' three-day rookie minicamp.
The roster move was a surprising one because Cannon signed a contract with the team that guaranteed the receiver $45,000, which included a $5,000 signing bonus. That was seen as wasted money by many within the media. However, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area pointed out on Tuesday, the 49ers may not be completely responsible for that amount – depending on what happened with the wide receiver.
"If Cannon ends up on a 53-man roster – or even five weeks on a team's practice squad – and earns $40,000 or more from another NFL team this season, the 49ers will not owe him another penny," Maiocco wrote.
"If another team claims him before the deadline on Tuesday at 1 p.m. (PT), the new team will pick up the contract and the 49ers are off the hook for everything but the original $5,000 signing bonus," Maiocco added.
That second part is exactly what happened on Tuesday. According to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle, the New York Jets have claimed Cannon off of waivers. That means the 49ers will only be responsible for the $5,000 signing bonus.
Jets claimed former Baylor WR KD Cannon off waivers from 49ers, per a source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 9, 2017
Cannon was a 1,000-yard receiver and honorable mention All-Big 12 and consensus Freshman All-American in his rookie year. He had 58 catches for 1,030 yards and eight touchdowns in seven starts that season. In 2016, he had 87 catches for 1,215 yards and 13 touchdowns.