49ers Blog and Q&A: Bunkley fined $20K for kicking Boone; Wilhoite promoted to 53-man roster

49ers Blog and Q&A

News, notes and reader questions about the San Francisco 49ers

• Ask Matt a 49ers question

November 30, 2012

Bunkley fined $20K for kicking Boone; Wilhoite promoted to 53-man roster

David Akers had a field-goal blocked with 1:13 left to play in Sunday's game in New Orleans. The costlier kick came on the same play when Saints defensive lineman Broderick Bunkley kicked offensive lineman Alex Boone in the head when Boone was on the ground.

The NFL fined Bunkley $20,000 for the kick. He also was penalized for a personal foul at the time and was disqualified from the game. He will not be suspended.

Boone was tangling with several Saints linemen when the incident occurred. "I don't know why (he did it), Boone said after the game. "Maybe he was mad at me."

**********************************
The 53rd player on the 49ers' active roster? It's linebacker/fullback Michael Wilhoite, who was promoted from the practice squad today, according to his agent. Wilhoite was a teammate of ex-49er receiver Joe Hastings -- who made a similar jump from the practice squad last year -- at Washburn University. He joined the 49ers practice squad last year.

The move means that the 49ers will not sign a kicker to a short-term contract and that David Akers' pelvis injury will not prevent him from kicking Sunday in St. Louis. Two veteran kickers, Nate Kaeding and Billy Cundiff, tried out for the 49ers on Tuesday.

If Wilhoite plays Sunday, it would be on special teams. With an opening on the practice squad, the team re-signed safety Eddie Whitley, who was released earlier in the week.

-- Matt Barrows

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

blog comments powered by Disqus

FOLLOW US | Get more from sacbee.com | Follow us on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook | Get news in your inbox | View our mobile versions | e-edition: Print edition online | What our bloggers are saying

Please use the form below to submit your question. Because there is a 100-word limit for questions, a word counter is located directly beneath the box where you enter the your question.