RENTON — Consider it the latest chapter in one of football’s best rivalries.
A day after the San Francisco 49ers released rookie quarterback B.J. Daniels, the Seattle Seahawks claimed the former seventh-round pick off waivers. Earlier Wednesday, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said his hope was to add Daniels to the team’s practice squad, and according to reports out of San Francisco, the team had even set up a temporary locker for him with the other practice squad players.
“We’re hopeful B.J. can return, and trust we have a plan for him,” Harbaugh told Bay Area reporters. “And a process for developing him and getting him ready to play in the National Football League, as well.”
Instead, Daniels is on the 53-man roster of San Francisco’s biggest rival.
Of course, the Seahawks wouldn’t sign Daniels just to spite the 49ers (would they?). Obviously they like the talent possessed by the athletic rookie, who many have compared to Russell Wilson both because of his athletic ability and height (Daniels is listed at 5-foot-11). Daniels, who played at South Florida, stood out in San Francisco’s preseason games to the point that some wondered if he might challenge Colt McCoy for the No. 2 job behind Colin Kaepernick. But Daniels had been inactive in all four of San Francisco’s regular season games.
Prior to acquiring Daniels, the Seahawks had carried three quarterbacks on the active roster once during head coach Pete Carroll’s tenure, doing so when they kept Josh Portis as a developmental project along with starter Tarvaris Jackson and backup Charlie Whitehurst. In Daniels, it’s possible the Seahawks see a future backup to Wilson beyond this season. Jackson, Seattle’s current backup, is on a one-year deal, and was very impressive in the preseason and in mop-up duty against Jacksonville, which could make keeping him beyond this year costly for the Seahawks.
To make room on the roster, the Seahawks released linebacker John Lotulelei, who they had signed as an undrafted rookie in May. Lotulelei had been active in two games, playing primarily on special teams.
Injury update
Max Unger, who missed Sunday’s game with a triceps injury, was limited in practice Wednesday. Carroll said they don’t yet know the prognosis on Unger for this week.
“We’ll see what it looks like,” Carroll said. “We’ll take that day-by-day and we’ll know more by the end of the week. He won’t get a lot of work in today but he is part of the practice. So we’ll see what happens.”
Rookie defensive tackle Jordan Hill, who has yet to play this season with a biceps injury, practiced fully and could make his debut Sunday. Safety Jeron Johnson also returned to practice on a limited basis, and Carroll said there’s a good chance he’ll return after missing three games with a hamstring injury.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.
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