49ers notes: Goodwin atop depth chart at center

Aug. 30, 2011MAIOCCO ARCHIVE
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Matt MaioccoCSNBayArea.com
SANTA CLARA -- Veteran center Jonathan Goodwin has moved ahead of Adam Snyder on the 49ers' depth chart.Goodwin, the former New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl player whom the 49ers awarded a three-year, 10.9 million deal in free agency, had been listed as Snyder's backup through the first three exhibition games.But in an official team release in advance of the 49ers' exhibition finale Thursday at San Diego, Goodwin has overtaken Snyder to be listed as the team's starting center. Goodwin and Snyder shared time with the first-team offense in the first three exhibition games.Another noticeable change was apparent at cornerback, where Tarell Brown is listed as the starter on the right side. Shawntae Spencer had been listed as the starter. But Spencer's name was enclosed in parenthesis to denote the hamstring injury, which kept him out of the first three preseason games.Spencer was in pads for the first time in several weeks at practice Monday, but his work appeared to be confined to rehabilitation on a side field.
The 49ers waived seven players Tuesday morning to get to the league-mandated roster limit of 80 players before the 1 p.m. deadline.The most notable of the cuts was linebacker Scott McKillop, whom the 49ers selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. McKillop was a key special-teams contributor as a rookie, but he sustained a devastating season-ending knee injury in training camp last year.Why would the 49ers cut McKillop now? McKillop did not play in the first two exhibition games because of his knee. He played Saturday night against the Texans, and recorded seven tackles. The 49ers were concerned that he could re-injure his knee Thursday in the exhibition finale against the San Diego Chargers, and they would've been on the hook for another year of salary.McKillop is not eligible for the practice squad because he played in 16 games as a rookie. To maintain practice-squad eligibility, a player must suit up for no more than eight regular-season games in any one season.Former San Jose State receiver Kevin Jurovich, who distinguished himself during the player-led workouts, was also among the cuts. Jurovich spent last season on the 49ers' practice squad, but he never captured the attention of the new coaching staff.The 49ers have plenty of other practice-squad eligible receivers to consider ahead of Jurovich, including recent draft picks Kyle Williams and Ronald Johnson, as well as Lance Long. Also, undrafted rookies Chris Hogan (Monmouth) and Joe Hastings (Washburn) remain on the 80-man roster.The 49ers parted ways with punter Sam Paulescu, which is good news for 49ers fans. That means Andy Lee has recovered from his right hip injury that kept him out of action for one game.The other 49ers cuts were offense linemen Donovan Edwards (Cal) and Nick Howell (USC), as well as receiver Tyler Beiler (Bridgewater), running back Seth Smith (New Mexico State).