The 49ers made some funky procedural moves this week. With an open roster spot available after placing Samuel Womack on injured reserve with an MCL injury, the team signed for Dallas Cowboys starter Anthony Brown to a one-year deal.
But Brown, 29, is coming off an Achilles tear at the start of last December, and was trying to acclimate on a short week.
So instead of playing Brown, the 49ers released him and promoted Tre Swilling to the active roster from the practice squad. That promotion allowed them to use their two practice squad activations for the week on cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles and wide receiver Chris Conley.
Now, the 49ers have reverted to the initial move they made.
The team announced Friday that it had re-signed Brown to a one-year deal and waived Swilling. Swilling will almost surely be back on the practice squad if he clears waivers, and can still be bumped up for gamedays with practice squad roster activations.