Seahawks steal away Daniels from 49ers

The roster poaching between NFC West rivals continued Wednesday as the Seahawks claimed versatile quarterback B.J. Daniels off waivers from San Francisco.

The Seahawks’ snatching of Daniels foiled the 49ers’ plan to sign the seventh-round pick to the practice squad had he cleared the wire.

Daniels is the latest player to be shuffled between the Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll squads.

In 2013 alone the 49ers general manager Trent Baakle signed former Seahawks tight end Cameron Morrah, wide receiver Charly Martin, quarterback Seneca Wallace, and H-back Chris Harper; only Harper is still with the team.

Seattle alums defensive end/fullback Will Tukuafu and wide receiver Ricardo Lockette were also released.

Meanwhile the Seahawks released tackle Mike Person — the 49ers’ 2011 seventh-round pick — signed then cut wide receiver Brett Swain and long snapper Kyle Nelson, and plan to keep Daniels on the 53-man roster as the No. 3 quarterback.

So why all the cherry-picking?

Both teams are very good, they’ve won the last three division titles. It means even the guys being cut are very good players worth giving a shot.

Strategy is also a part of it. For example the claiming of Daniels limits the 49ers’ quarterback depth behind Colin Kaepernick to Colt McCoy and newly signed John Skelton. Wide receiver and return specialist Kyle Williams is the emergency quarterback on game days.

The Seahawks now have three legit dual-threat quarterbacks in Russell Wilson, Tavaris Jackson and Daniels, a desire of many NFL teams. This is a case of the Seahawks getting stronger while leaving their rival perceivably weaker.

The strategic snatching has been more prevalent since fired 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan was hired as the Seahawks senior personnel executive in 2010 to help John Schneider assess talent for Carroll.

Soon, kicker Jeff Reed and several former draft picks — Kentwan Balmer, Michael Robinson, Nate Davis, and Thomas Clayton — were in Seattle for varying periods of time. Last year a trio of former 49ers No. 1 receivers were given a shot — Braylon Edwards, Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens — and none of them stuck.

Don’t expect the uniform switching between the “Ninerhawks”  to slow anytime soon. It be foolish for either team not to look at the other’s castoffs for potential help and insight.

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