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49ers promote familiar face to active roster, add D-lineman to practice squad
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- 49ers promote familiar face to active roster, add D-lineman to practice squad
49ers promote familiar face to active roster, add D-lineman to practice squad originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers are promoting a familiar face from the practice squad to the active roster.
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San Francisco promoted tight end Brayden Willis to the active roster Tuesday after Jake Tonges went down with a knee injury in the 49ers' season-opening win against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday in Melbourne, Australia. The 49ers also signed defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson to the practice squad, a former third-round NFL draft pick.
The 49ers selected Willis in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. The tight end has bounced back and forth between the practice squad and active roster during his now-four seasons in the NFL. Between 2023 and 2025, Willis has appeared in 23 regular-season games and four playoff games. Most of Willis' snaps have come on special teams and jumbo formations, as he has yet to record a reception in his NFL career.
Jackson was drafted in 2024 out of Texas A&M by the Bengals, and played 22 games with Cincinnati during the first two years of his NFL career. The 49ers recently lost defensive lineman Alfred Collins to a season-ending patellar tendon tear , and will look to fill the ranks on the defensive side of the trenches with Jackson and others.
