San Francisco 49ers rookies on Saturday reported for their first NFL training camp. With the reporting came a pair of roster moves involving first-year players.
The 49ers announced undrafted punter Jack Bouwmeester officially signed his three-year rookie contract. They also placed undrafted tight end Khalil Dinkins on the active/non-football injury list.
Bouwmeester will immediately step into a training camp battle with veteran punter Corliss Waitman who signed with the club this offseason. The rookie and veteran will duke it out to replace veteran Thomas Morstead who spent the 2025 season with San Francisco.
It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Bouwmeester won the punter job for the 49ers. He’s already 27 years old after a tumultuous college career that began in 2019 at Michigan State where he didn’t play. After two seasons away he landed with the University of Utah where he averaged 43.6 yards per punt on 154 kicks in three seasons. Bouwmeester transferred to Texas for his last year in school and averaged 44.5 yards per punt on 59 kicks.
For Dinkins the path to a roster spot is less straightforward, and it’s unclear what injury he’s dealing with. The only certainty is that Dinkins was hurt while not with the 49ers, which means it could’ve happened in an offseason workout between OTAs and reporting for camp. It’s also not immediately clear how long he might be on the sidelines.
If he does participate in training camp he’ll have a steep hill to climb to a roster spot, particularly if George Kittle isn’t going to miss any time. The undrafted rookie TE will be behind player like Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell and Brayden Willis in the hunt for a roster spot, but there are some clear tools that could make Dinkins a useful NFL player.
Dinkins measured in at 6-4, 251 pounds and ran a 4.72 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. His athleticism wasn’t fully utilized at Penn State where he caught 37 passes for 399 yards and seven touchdowns across 47 games in four seasons.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers sign rookie for training camp battle, add one to injured list
Reporting by Kyle Madson, Niners Wire / Niners Wire
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By Kyle Madson, Niners Wire | USA TODAY Network
