The San Francisco 49ers are making changes to their WR group ahead of an important road trip to face the Buffalo Bills.

On November 29, the 49ers announced that they were waiving second-year WR Ronnie Bell via an online press release. Bell was initially drafted by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL draft.

The release went official shortly after the team made two other changes, which involved the release of OL Cameron Erving from the practice squad and the return of a familiar face.

“The San Francisco 49ers announced they have signed OL Sebastian Gutierrez to the team’s practice squad. In order to make room on the practice squad, the team released OL Cameron Erving,” the 49ers’ site reads.

It’s no surprise that the 49ers shuffled around the practice squad, but Bell’s release after Gutierrez’s arrival is something to monitor. The move leaves 5 active receivers on the 53-man roster, as seen below:

• Deebo Samuel
• Ricky Pearsall
• Jauan Jennings
• Chris Conley
• Jacob Cowing

The Niners currently have three receivers on the practice squad in Terique Owens, Russell Gage and Trent Taylor. While not a guarantee, expect San Francisco to promote one of those names to the active roster for the Bills game.

Bell Struggles to Stick in San Francisco

The start to Bell’s NFL career has been an interesting one. He’s been active for 26 regular season games over the past two years, but was not active for a single playoff game during the 49ers’ run to the 2024 Super Bowl.

In 2023, Bell made 6 catches for 68 yards, three of the receptions going for touchdowns. That being said, Bell was primarily used as a special teams player last year. His role was always going to depend on special teams execution and making the most of his infrequent offensive opportunities.

In Week 3, Bell got one of his biggest opportunities yet. The 49ers targeted the 24-year-old three times against the Los Angeles Rams, but the former Michigan Wolverine dropped two of those attempts.

Bell only got three more targets the rest of the campaign, and was twice ruled out as a healthy scratch. His drop in special teams snaps was also a tell-tale sign, as he went from playing 26% of the Niners’ special teams snaps in 2023 to just 6% in 2024.

49ers Bring Back Gutierrez

If Gutierrez’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he was with the 49ers as recently as September. The 26-year-old was with San Francisco for the entirety of the 2024 offseason, but was released from the team on September 2.

Gutierrez has spent his three seasons in the NFL bouncing from practice squad to practice squad, with his most recent stint being with the Indianapolis Colts. But after his release on November 25 put him back on the market, and the Niners came calling.

Gutierrez will likely continue his role as a practice squad option, but the recent injury issues with OT Trent Williams means that his presence does matter. Should the 49ers need to elevate an OL, they’ll be looking at Gutierrez, Isaac Alarcon or Drake Nugent.