49ers place NT Williams on IR, sign FB Marecic
Fullback Owen Marecic, who played at Stanford under coach Jim Harbaugh, signed with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday.
Marecic replaces starting defensive lineman Ian Williams on the 53-man roster. Williams is out for the season with a broken ankle, an injury he suffered on a legal cut block at Seattle on Sunday night.
Marecic is the first player to play under Harbaugh in the NFL after doing the same at Stanford.
Marecic is a versatile player with some similarity to starting fullback Bruce Miller. Marecic has experience as a linebacker (at Stanford) and also lined up as an H-back or tight end at times for the Cardinal.
He's likely to begin in a special teams role but given his knowledge of the system, could get up to speed quickly in a greater role.
Former first-round pick Glenn Dorsey, in his first season with the 49ers after five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, has replaced Williams on the starting defensive line.
