San Francisco 49ers sign DB Dexter McCoil, S Terrell Williams Jr. on IR

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The San Francisco 49ers have signed defensive back Dexter McCoil.

San Fransisco placed safety Terrell Williams Jr. on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction. The 49ers announced the moves Friday.

McCoil, 26, signed a one-year contract with the NFC West franchise. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound defender originally joined the team in 2017 after being claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Chargers in October. He had one tackle in eight games last season of the 49ers. San Francisco waived McCoil on April 30.

Williams Jr. signed with the 49ers on April 30 as an undrafted rookie free agent. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound safety had 95 tackles, seven passes defensed, four interceptions and a fumble recovery in 23 games for the University of Houston.

The 49ers had Williams listed as a fourth-string free safety on their unofficial depth chart, behind starter Adrian Colbert, D.J. Reed, Jr. and Marcell Harris.

San Francisco has Jaquiski Tartt listed as its starting strong safety, with Antone Exum, Jr. and Chanceller James listed as reserves on its depth chart. Harris is dealing with a hamstring injury while Williams has a knee injury.

On Thursday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said there was a "battle" for the backup strong safety position.

"We've got a battle there," Shanahan told reporters. "We've got a lot of those guys working. I know Chanceller got a lot of the reps coming off of that injury from last year. He got a lot of reps in the game. I know Williams is going to get some, too. With him going down, some of our issues we have we might have to look to bring someone else in. But, I've got to figure out how hurt these guys are, especially losing Marcell yesterday, too."

The 49ers face the Houston Texans in a preseason clash at 8 p.m. Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston.