Niners send Rumph to 'Skins

Rumph was moved to safety last year, but went back to cornerback shortly before going on injured reserve with his foot problem. He was sharing playing time with rookie Marcus Hudson during training camp, and coach Mike Nolan apparently decided the 49ers' secondary is deep enough to part with the fifth-year pro.

But Nolan said the Redskins initiated the trade discussions.

"I'm not going to say we're at championship level right now, but we've got a lot of competition going on at (cornerback)," Nolan said. "We do need to strengthen ourselves at wide receiver, so I thought it was an opportunity for us to take advantage of that."

Rumph is the third key member of last season's defensive secondary to be dropped by San Francisco this season. The Niners cut cornerback Bruce Thornton and safety Ben Emanuel -- both regular starters in 2005 -- earlier in training camp

Jacobs has been a disappointment since the Redskins drafted him in the second round of the 2003 draft. He had a bruised pancreas during his rookie season, a strained abdominal muscle in 2004 and a sprained big left toe last year. He has been ineffective when he did play, catching only 30 passes for 315 yards in 38 games.

"I wished it had worked out better for him here," coach Joe Gibbs said. "It didn't."

Jacobs has a groin injury and was a long shot to make the roster in a receiving corps that includes Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd and Antwaan Randle El. He'll also face plenty of competition in San Francisco, where Nolan expects him to start camp Tuesday as Antonio Bryant's backup.

"He's a good football player," Nolan said. "I'm kind of anxious to see how he fits into the group that we have. I don't think that he's a speed guy as (Bryan) Gilmore is for us. I don't think he's as competitive possibly as Antonio is. I think he's somewhere in between on both, so he can still be a very good wide receiver."

The 49ers had considered several veterans to beef up their receiving corps, including disgruntled Denver wideout Ashley Lelie and former Eagles receiver Freddie Mitchell. Nolan said trade discussions with the Broncos are dead.

The trade is the second between Washington and San Francisco this year. The Redskins sent two draft picks to the 49ers in March for Lloyd.

Rumph becomes the sixth University of Miami player at Redskins camp, joining running back Clinton Portis, safety Sean Taylor, Moss, linebacker Rocky McIntosh and tight end Buck Ortega.

The Redskins plan to use Rumph as a backup cornerback. Shawn Springs saw a specialist Monday for a sore hip, and nickel back Kenny Wright allowed two big plays and committed a pass interference penalty in Sunday night's 19-3 exhibition loss at Cincinnati.<