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On Wednesday, we shared some words from an interview with Shawne Merriman in which he said he was waiting for a 3-4 team in need of an outside linebacker to give him a call before he could continue his career.

Merriman got a call, but he isn’t yet continuing his career. Aaron Wilson of Scout.com reports that Merriman visited with the 49ers on Wednesday before they wound up bringing back training camp cut Eric Bakhtiari instead. The Niners had a need for a linebacker to fill in while Clark Haggans is serving his three-game suspension and opted for a guy who has been with the team or on the practice squad on and off over the last few years instead of bringing Merriman on board.

Haggans’ suspension seemed to make San Francisco a good fit for Merriman, especially since they wouldn’t be relying on him to do much in the way of heavy lifting for the defense. That wouldn’t be as true in Washington, where the Redskins need to replace Brian Orakpo at outside linebacker, but it could be another place where Merriman earns a look.

Getting the look is just part of the story, though. Getting the job is the other, more difficult part of the process.