The San Francisco 49ers made a host of roster moves on Wednesday, including confirming the signing of defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day.

Joseph-Day's arrival figures to fix a major problem on the defensive line with starting defensive tackle Arik Armstead still out with knee and foot injuries.

However, there was another move made worthy of significant intrigue, as the 49ers opened the 21-day practice window for wide receiver Danny Gray.

Gray, a third-round pick in 2022 who has made precious little impact in his NFL career, has missed entirety of his second season in the NFL with a shoulder injury.

But the 49ers' decision to open his window is a step towards his potential return, which could allow San Francisco to resolve an issue that is bubbling under the surface.

The Niners have been without starting return man Ray-Ray McCloud for their last four games because of a rib injury.

San Francisco has had starting receiver Deebo Samuel handle many of the kickoffs in his absence, while Ronnie Bell has been on punts.

Bell was correctly ruled down by contact on a fumble during a return in the Week 15 win over the Arizona Cardinals, that fortunate break erasing a touchdown for the Cardinals after they scooped up the ball and took it into the endzone.

On Monday, Bell muffed a free kick by the Baltimore Ravens following a safety and was lucky to see the ball go out of bounds.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked on Tuesday if the 49ers could consider other options on punt returns, including starting receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

He replied: 

"Yeah, we’ve got a few guys who can do it. Juice [FB Kyle Juszczyk] is very good at catching them. He is a very reliable guy, so we could always put him back there. Always can make the decision with [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] if we wanted to. B.A.’s got some experience with it. That was a bad miss that Ronnie had. I thought it was just a lack of concentration. The other ones he got under, I think two and did a good job. But yeah, we can’t have him do that, so he’s got to be better in that area."

Gray has some experience of returning kicks in preseason but has not done it in regular-season action. However, with the speed he brings to the table he has the potential to make a more positive impact as a punt returner than Bell, and deploying him in such a role would help the 49ers avoid using a starter in such a capacity and risking injury.

It's not clear if and when the 49ers will activate Gray to the 53-man roster, but if they do so in the near future then they could use his presence to fix a special teams problem San Francisco can ill-afford to have rear its head during the postseason.

In addition to the Joseph-Day signing, the 49ers also re-signed veteran offensive lineman Matt Pryor to a one-year deal. Pryor was released prior to San Francisco's defeat to Baltimore in order to allow them to promote Willie Snead IV from the practice squad.

Snead was cut on Tuesday to make room for Joseph-Day on the roster but was confirmed as returning to the practice squad on Wednesday. Offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez was also signed to the practice squad. Running back Jeremy McNicholas has been released from the 53-man roster to make room for Pryor.

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