Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:11:27 CST

The San Francisco 49ers have parted ways with veteran center Eric Heitmann and kicker Joe Nedney after they failed physicals.

The San Francisco 49ers have parted ways with veteran center Eric Heitmann and kicker Joe Nedney after they failed physicals.

The 49ers released nine year 49ers lineman Eric Heitmann today, via released/failed physical status. Heitmann, who played in 119 games at center and guard for the team, was expected to be out for the entire season after getting neck surgery earlier in the offseason.

The San Francisco 49ers have parted ways with veteran center Eric Heitmann and kicker Joe Nedney after they failed physicals. The team made the announcement Friday morning ahead of its first practice under new coach Jim Harbaugh scheduled for the afternoon. The 31-year-old Heitmann was placed on season-ending injured reserve last November in his ninth NFL season because of a neck...

The San Francisco 49ers have parted ways with veteran center Eric Heitmann and kicker Joe Nedney after they failed physicals.

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. (AP) - The San Francisco 49ers have parted ways with veteran center Eric Heitmann and kicker Joe Nedney after they failed physicals.The team made the announcement Friday morning ahead of its first practice under new coach Jim Harbaugh scheduled for the afternoon.The 31-year-old Heitmann was placed on ...

The 49ers parted ways with two long-tenured players with longtime Bay Area ties today when they released/failed physical center Eric Heitmann and placekicker Joe Nedney. CSN Bay Area first reported their releases. Heitmann, a seventh-round pick in the 2002 draft from Stanford, missed last...

With the Niners very thin at the center spot with the departure of David Baas and the season ending injury to Eric Heitmann, the 49ers are trying to lure Bears center Olin Kreutz to the Bay Area. According to Michael Wright of ESPNChicago An NFL source said that the Niners sent Kreutz a contract proposal Wednesday night. Although the Bears and the center have talked numbers as well...

David Baas, who filled in admirably as the San Francisco 49ers' center last season after Eric Heitmann broke his leg, is headed for New York.

David Baas, who filled in admirably as the San Francisco 49ers' center last season after Eric Heitmann broke his leg, is headed for New York.

Matt Barrows reports that center David Baas has agreed to terms with the Giants on a 5 year, $26 million contract. The 49ers' best lineman last year, Baas had a breakout season where he started all 16 games at center for injured vet Eric Heitmann and produced arguably the...

Giants agreed to terms with free agent center David Baas, a source tells Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. It's a major blow to the 49ers, who was expected to be their No. 1 priority. Eric Heitmann's career is in doubt due to a neck injury and Baas was the top center on the market. Meanwhile, the Giants get an upgrade on soon-to-be released Shaun O'Hara and still have Adam Koets...

With the lockout going over 120 days, I will take this time to look at our impending free agents, and who should or shouldn't return. Should return: C David Baas - A scheduled UFA, really adapted well to his new position last year after then starter, Eric Heitmann went down with an...

Nearly a full hour of 49ers babble.  Eric Heitmann’s injury and how that makes David Baas the #1 Free Agent priority this offseason.  Takeo Spikes sounding off on player-led workouts. Scouts Inc’s Matt Williamson and his ranking of the top fifteen players in the NFC West.  What 49ers are on the list?  What players were [...]

The loss of 49ers center Eric Heitmann causing ripple effects around the league regarding prospective free-agent centers is one of the top subject matters as Len Pasquarelli takes his weekly whirl around the NFL, with a Silver and Black birthday, QB Carson Palmer selling his Cincinnati home and a free-agent WR that might be attractive to the 49ers also among the tasty informational tidbits.

San Francisco 49ers starting center may miss the entire 2011 NFL season due to a neck injury suffered during Mike Singletary's "Nutcracker" drill.

49ers center Eric Heitmann’s neck injury, which required season-ending surgery four weeks ago, is being blamed on a “nutcracker” drill during last summer’s training camp, Kevin Lynch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 31-year-old Heitmann suffered a stinger during a training camp practice. On the next day, Heitmann suffered a fractured fibula. The 49ers ultimately...

Mike Singletary’s run as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers was marred by all-too-infrequent triumphs and some of the most ridiculous moments in sports history. Singletary, the new linebackers coach for the Vikings, is still drawing criticism from his time in San Francisco thanks to his use of the “nutcracker” drill in 2009 and 2010 practices.  The drill pits two guys lined...

Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reports that 49ers center Eric Heitmann is expected to miss the 2011 season after undergoing neck surgery recently. The procedure, which was performed four weeks ago by Dr. Robert Watkins, repaired a ruptured disc and takes approximately six months to recover from. A seventh-round pick out of Stanford in 2002, Heitmann started 114 of 119 games between...

Eric Heitmann might miss a second consecutive NFL season because of another serious injury, and teammate Joe Staley believes he knows how this one happened. Staley, the 49ers' starting left tackle, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Heitmann, the team's former starting center, injured his neck last year during former coach Mike Singletary's infamous drill, which requires...

The neck injury that will keep 49ers center Eric Heitmann off the field for the entire 2011 season stems from a training camp drill that former 49ers coach Mike Singletary insisted was an integral part of training camp — despite concerns from players that it was dangerous. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Heitmann’s injury…

Eric Heitmann's season-ending neck surgery stems from Mike Singletary's controversial "Nutcracker" drill, according to one player.

Eric Heitmann's season-ending neck surgery stems from Mike Singletary's controversial "Nutcracker" drill, according to one player.

In the wake of reports that Eric Heitmann likely will miss the upcoming season after surgery to repair a ruptured disk, the 49ers are essentially without a center. The only candidates on their roster who could start a game today are a veteran who never has played the position and two rookie draft picks who both played tackle in college last year, which leaves the Niners in a rather dire situation.