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49ers sign suspended long snapper to four-year deal

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© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports


49ers long snapper Kyle Nelson won’t be available until Week 7 of the upcoming season, but the 49ers have locked him up for the next four years.

ESPN’s Field Yates first reported that the 49ers have extended Nelson to a four-year deal that runs through the 2022 season. Nelson has to first serve the final six games of his 10-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs for the second time in his career.

The structural details of Nelson’s new contract aren’t yet known, but NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reports that the 49ers won’t suffer much financial impact if they decide to stick with long snapper Colin Holba, who was brought in last year after Nelson was suspended. Holba did not have a bad snap in his four games with the 49ers to close the season.

Nelson, the third-most tenured active 49ers player, has handled snapping duties on field goals, extra points, and punts since the 2014 season.

He released the following statement after he was suspended.

“I have been made aware by the NFL that I tested positive for a banned substance, and as a result will be suspended,” Nelson said in a statement. “I have been taking the same supplements for my entire time with the 49ers, while undergoing often simultaneous testing by the NFL with no issues. I do not deviate from my nutrition routine, and I would never knowingly take a banned substance. I am currently having the supplements tested, and I hope to uncover the cause of the positive test. When the product is identified I fully intend to seek legal action against the manufacturer to protect against this happening to other players in the future.”

Nelson is the second reported signing of the early negotiating free agency period. On Monday, the 49ers reportedly agreed to sign former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander to a four-year, $54-million contract. Alexander will make $27 million in guaranteed money.