The San Francisco 49ers acquired Gerald Hodges in a trade on Tuesday, and Jim Tomsula had a chance to address to move in his Wednesday press conference. Tomsula did not specifically state his role, but seemed to indicate he was a depth option at inside linebacker.

One of the early theories after the trade was that maybe the team was going to replace Michael Wilhoite in the starting lineup. He was spotted in a heated exchange with Jim Tomsula during the Packers game. Tomsula addressed that issue. In that particular instance, the 49ers had defensive players swapping out, and they (Wilhoite and Tank Carradine) were slow getting off the field. Tomsula said Aaron Rodgers keeps an eye on the defensive sideline to see if substitutions happen, so he can get a snap off and get a "12 men on the field" penalty. Tomsula saw it happening and had to get to Wilhoite and Tank about hustling more.

Tomsula said there was nothing more to it than that, so it would seem like the Hodges move should not be viewed in relation to that. He actually specifically said they were unrelated. It's not a huge story, but good to get clarification.