The only thing worse than getting cut by an NFL team is getting cut after flying 16 hours to Australia, and that's exactly what happened to 49ers tight end Brayden Willis on Saturday.
Willis was released to make room for long snapper Jon Weeks, who was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad.
Weeks is the only long snapper on the team, but he wasn't on the active roster going into the weekend because the 49ers had to do some roster gymnastics before the cut deadline on Aug. 30. He ended up being released just before the deadline, which left the 49ers with exactly zero long snappers on their roster. Weeks was eventually added to the practice squad, and now, he's back on the active roster as the 49ers get ready to prepare for their opener against the Rams in Melbourne.
Although Weeks is the one being added to the roster, let's not forget about Willis, who might have to fly 16 hours home just days after landing in Australia. Willis has been in the NFL since 2023, when the 49ers made him a seventh-round pick, and with less than four years of NFL experience, he's now going to hit the waiver wire. If he gets claimed by another team, he'll immediately leave Australia to join his new team.
Of course, this might be the one situation where a player is hoping NOT to be claimed by anyone. As several 49ers beat writers noted on Saturday, if Weeks goes unclaimed, then he'll likely sign with San Francisco's practice squad, and if that happens, then he'll be able to stay in Australia with the 49ers.
From a roster standpoint, the 49ers' decision to cut Willis is definitely an interesting one. Since Willis is a tight end, the move could signal that the team is extremely confident in George Kittle's chances of playing on Thursday night -- Friday morning in Melbourne -- against the Rams.
Kittle, who tore his Achilles tendon in January, made the trip to Australia, and it's increasingly looking like he'll be able to play.
That being said, if Willis ends up back in the practice squad, the 49ers could still promote him to the active roster on game day if they feel like Kittle isn't quite ready, so it will certainly be interesting to see how Kittle is listed when the 49ers release their first injury report of the year on Monday.
The 49ers also made one other roster move this week, and that was the signing of Khalid Kareem away from the Falcons' practice squad. The move means Kareem will have to make the roughly 21-hour trip from Atlanta to Melbourne to join the 49ers for the start of practice this week.
As you can see, there are many logistical issues with playing in Australia. If you cut a player, there's a chance they might have to turn around and fly home immediately (if a player is released or waived while on an international trip, the franchise remains fully responsible for their return transportation, logistics, and getting them back to the United States), and if you sign a player, that person has to quickly figure out how to travel halfway around the world in a very short time.
