The wide receiver tweeted the news early this morning: “I was released today by the 49ers due to my injury that required more time to rehab and hasn’t allowed me to re-sync with the offense....”

The release may be a bit of a surprise, considering the Niners are getting very thin at the receiver positions. They lost WR Josh Morgan (broken leg) to a season-ending injury in week 5, WR Ted Ginn Jr suffers from an ankle injury and WR Kyle Williams (concussion) and TE Delanie Walker (jaw) sustained injuries in last week’s game at Seattle. WR Michael Crabtree, WR Brett Swain, TE Vernon Davis and TE Justin Peele are currently the only healthy receivers remaining.

The 49ers have two wideouts on their practice squad, WR Joe Hastings and WR John Matthews, but it looks more likely that the team will look outside the organization to fill the void.

Braylon Edwards came to the Bay Area to challenge Michael Crabtree for the number 1 spot on the roster but injuries and performance in games and practice saw his playing time decrease. The receiver hurt his knee against the Dallas Cowboys in week 2 and missed the next four games. He also suffered a shoulder injury in week 9 at the Washington Redskins and never fully recovered from both injuries. He was inactive against the St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers in week 13 and week 15 respectively.

The former number 3 pick in the 2005 draft played 9 games for the 49ers and started 5 times. He caught 15 passes for 181 yards and no touchdown. Edwards signed a one-year contract this offseason worth $1 million plus $2.5 million incentives, based on receptions and Pro Bowl appearance.