SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers on Thursday signed veteran inside linebacker Philip Wheeler to a one-year contract, and released three players from their 90-man roster.
The 49ers waived wide receiver Trindon Holliday, guard Fouimalo Fonoti and wide receiver Lance Lewis.
Wheeler, 30, a seven-year veteran, does not count against the formula for compensatory picks next year because the Miami Dolphins released him this offseason.
The Dolphins signed Wheeler to a five-year, $26 million contract in 2013, and paid him $13 million in the first two years of that deal. But the seven-year veteran started just four of the 15 games in which he appeared last season.
Wheeler originally entered the NFL in 2008 as a third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts. He spent four seasons with the Colts before playing one year with the Raiders.
Wheeler joins a group of inside linebackers with the 49ers that includes NaVorro Bowman, Michael Wilhoite, Desmond Bishop, Nick Moody, Nick Bellore and Shayne Skov.
