Five weeks after being released for the fifth time in his NFL career, former Auburn linebacker Chandler Wooten is back in the league.
The San Francisco 49ers signed Wooten for their practice squad on Tuesday.
Wooten joins the 49ers after the team suspended linebacker De’Vondre Campbell for its remaining three regular-season games.
In San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, Campbell twice refused to go into the game after 49ers linebackers came off the field with injuries, and he walked to the locker room during the fourth quarter.
The game was the first of the season for Dre Greenlaw, who reclaimed his starting position from Campbell after tearing an Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII in February
Wooten played in three October games for the Carolina Panthers this season. He was on the field for 59 defensive snaps and 48 special-teams plays.
Wooten entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. The Carolina Panthers signed him off the Cardinals’ practice squad on Oct. 18, 2022, and he played in nine games, completely as a special-teamer, for the Panthers in 2022.
Wooten started the 2023 season on Carolina’s practice squad, but he still played in eight games, with 47 defensive snaps and 177 special-teams plays.
This season, Wooten had two stints on the Panthers’ practice squad plus a three-week stay on Carolina’s active roster before his release on Nov. 7.
The 49ers play the Miami Dolphins at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Each NFL team can elevate two of its practice-squad members to active status for each game.