The 49ers’ super-sized collectionof tight ends shrunk by one Monday morning when Asante Cleveland got traded to the New England Patriots, a league source confirmed. News of the transaction was broken first by ESPN’s Adam Schefter (h/t Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area).
Advertisement
As for who New England is getting in return, Cleveland is a second-year player who went undrafted in 2014 out of the University of Miami. Behind Vernon Davis are incumbent reserves Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier andGarrett Celek, along with former practice-squad player Xavier Grimble and 2015 draft picks Blake Bell (fourth round) and Busta Anderson (seventh round).
The San Francisco 49ers saw Cleveland take part in six games in the past NFL season.
The 49ers brought eight tight ends to camp and also list long snapper Kyle Nelson as a tight end. The only other tight end on the Redskins roster with any real NFL experience, Jordan Reed, has been limited in camp and has a lengthy injury history.
“(There’s) more work to do”, Devey said in the locker room after New England’s Super Bowl win. However, the 27-year-old lineman had a poor showing in his four starts early in the season and lost playing time in a re-shuffle that eventually put Bryan Stork at center and Ryan Wendell at guard.
The 49ers use some of their tight end depth to reinforce their banged-up offensive line. San Francisco announced the agreement to the swap Tuesday.
Advertisement
In the meantime, we can see how Devey works out and if he provides some much-needed insurance within San Francisco’s offensive front.
