49ers release CB Jamar Taylor with K’Waun Williams returning

The San Francisco 49ers have released cornerback Jamar Taylor upon K’Waun Williams’ return.

The San Francisco 49ers received some good news on the injury front this week as slot cornerback K’Waun Williams returned to practice this past Monday. Unfortunately, that effectively spelled the end of Jamar Taylor‘s tenure with the organization.

Taylor was signed back in July to provide more depth to the 49ers’ cornerback group. A seven-year veteran, Taylor has bounced around the NFL ever since entering the league as a second-round pick back in 2013.

Most recently, Taylor split time with both the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons last season playing in 12 total games. But barring injury, he was always considered a longshot to make the 49ers’ final roster.

The 29-year-old had been seeing a sizable number of reps in practice with Williams out with an injury. Williams had been sidelined for the past couple of weeks with a calf strain, but his return on Monday didn’t bode well for Taylor who had seen the majority of his work out of the slot.

Ultimately, the 49ers decided to get ahead of the game when it comes to roster cuts releasing the veteran defensive back a couple of days before cut day — perhaps to allow him an opportunity to sign with other teams.

Taylor wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was clear in practice that he was a drop-off from Williams who was one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the NFL last year.

K’Waun Williams hasn’t been the only 49ers player dealing with an injury.

The 49ers will certainly be glad to have Williams back, although their injury woes continue to pile up on the offensive side of the ball — particularly at wide receiver.

On Thursday, Tavon Austin joined J.J. Nelson and Jalen Hurd on the injured reserve. That’s not even including the likes of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk who remain sidelined with injuries.

At the very least, the team did see the return of Richie James after the speedy wideout missed all of training camp to this point with a broken wrist.

The returns of Williams and James provide optimism, but the 49ers still remain pretty banged up.

Here’s to hoping their fortunes change soon with just over a week to go until the start of the regular season.