In some unexpected news, the San Francisco 49ers have released veteran center Jeremy Zuttah, who was acquired via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens in March. Zuttah had been the Ravens' starting center over the last three seasons. To take his spot on the roster, the team has signed linebacker Sean Porter.
"We also believe that you can never have enough good offensive linemen, and Jeremy has certainly proven to be a very talented player having earned a Pro Bowl selection last season," said 49ers general manager John Lynch in March following the trade.
Zuttah, 30, was a third-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. In March of 2014, Zuttah was traded from Tampa Bay to Baltimore in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He finished the 2015 season on injured reserve due to a torn pectoral.
In 2016, Zuttah was named to his first Pro Bowl after starting all 16 games for Baltimore. During his nine-year career, the veteran has appeared in 131 games, with 117 regular season starts and two playoff starts during that time.
The Sacramento Bee reports that Zuttah had not received many reps with the first-team offense during training camp practices and had been surpassed by Tim Barnes. Daniel Kilgore appears to be the projected starter for the 49ers at center. In 2016, he suffered a hamstring injury during a loss to the New York Jets and finished the season on injured reserve.
Zuttah has not had many snaps with the first-team unit in practice, had been surpassed by Tim Barnes of late. Daniel Kilgore remains starter
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 9, 2017
Porter, who practiced with the team on Wednesday, has spent the majority of his four-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals – the team that drafted him out of Texas A&M in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Porter has appeared in three games over his career and has no recorded statistics.
