After missing the 2022 NFL season, defensive tackle Marlon Davidson’s attempt to return to the field with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 has ended.

The 49ers released Davidson from their practice squad on Wednesday without the former Auburn standout appearing in a game during the first four weeks of the season.

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Davidson signed with San Francisco in May. He didn’t survive the roster reduction from the preseason to the regular season, but the 49ers kept him with the team as a practice-squad member.

The Class 5A Lineman on the Year at Greenville High School in 2015, Davidson earned first-team All-SEC recognition at Auburn in 2019 before joining the Atlanta Falcons as the 47th selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.

While with the Falcons, Davidson played in 19 games, started one and missed 21 as injuries and COVID-19 kept him off the field.

Davidson had arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 18, 2022, and went on injured reserve on Sept. 1, 2022. On Oct. 25, the Falcons waived him from injured reserve.

Punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) also left an NFL practice squad on Wednesday, when he was released by the New England Patriots.

Waitman led the NFL with 96 punts in 2022 with the Denver Broncos. Waitman joined the Patriots in March. But New England chose rookie Bryce Baringer to handle their punting duties while keeping Waitman on the practice squad.

The practice-squad news was better for cornerback Christian Matthew (Samford) and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth (Murphy) on Wednesday.

Stallworth returned to Houston after playing in one game for the Texans last season. A veteran of five NFL seasons, Stallworth joined Houston as a waiver claim after playing in six games with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. But he sustained a hamstring injury in his first game and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve.

Stallworth had been on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad this season until his release on Sept. 11.

Matthew was on the field for 83 special-teams plays in the Arizona Cardinals’ first four games of the 2023 season. After the Cardinals waived Matthew on Monday, the Chicago Bears signed the cornerback for their practice squad on Wednesday.

A seventh-round draft choice in 2022, Matthew played in 14 games, with three starts for Arizona last season.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.