SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers made a switch at punter on Wednesday, signing veteran Thomas Morstead and cutting Mitch Wishnowsky after six seasons in the role.
The switch at punter is one of several made this offseason by the 49ers to overhaul a special teams unit that struggled last season, leading to the firing of coordinator Brian Schneider.
Brant Boyer was hired after spending the previous nine seasons in that role with the New York Jets and has now brought in a punter and a kicker he worked with in the past. San Francisco signed kicker Greg Joseph earlier this month to compete with Jake Moody.
The 39-year-old Morstead spent the past two seasons playing for Boyer with Jets after spending most of his career with the New Orleans Saints. He averaged 47.2 yards per punt last season with a 40.7 yard net average.
He has averaged 46.8 yards per punt with a 41.5 yard net average in 255 games. He was a second-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in 2012 for New Orleans.
Wishnowsky was a fourth-round pick by San Francisco in 2019 and was one of the better punters in the league at pinning opponents deep before a back injury sidelined him for the final eight games last season. He ranked third out of 38 punters with at least 150 attempts since 2019 with 45.2% of his punts getting downed inside the 20.
He averaged 45.6 yards per punt with a 40.7 yard net average in 92 games. He averaged 45.2 yards per punt last season with his 36.3-yard net average ranking last among 34 punters with at least 20 attempts.
San Francisco also signed linebacker Chazz Surratt to a one-year deal and waived linebacker DaShaun White to make room on the roster.
Surratt was drafted in the third round in 2021 by Minnesota and spent the past three seasons with the Jets where he played for both Boyer and current Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Surratt had 18 tackles on defense and 10 more on special teams last season.
The 49ers also announced that the team has brought back Ethan Waugh as a personnel executive.
Waugh spent 18 seasons with the 49ers before leaving in 2022 to take over as assistant general manager in Jacksonville. He served three years in that role before being let go after this past season.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky (3) leaves the field at half time during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit,File)
FILE - New York Jets punter Thomas Morstead (6) stands on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray, File)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.
Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.
Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:
— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”
— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.
—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.
Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”
— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”
— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.
People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
