Quarterback Cade McNown is on the move again.

	McNown

Despite being praised by the Dolphins for his work during the offseason, McNown was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday in exchange for a conditional seventh-round choice in the 2003 draft.

The only condition on the trade is that McNown make the 49ers' 53-man roster in September.

"Cade did a good job for us, but we had a couple of young candidates that we liked,'' said Dolphins vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman. "We figured that we would make the move now and give Cade a better chance to make a team's roster.''

The Dolphins were looking at young quarterbacks Tim Levcik and Zak Kustok as the team's third quarterback. Ray Lucus is the backup behind starter Jay Fiedler. The Dolphins only wanted to bring four quarterbacks to camp, so releasing McNown got them down to their magic number.

The Niners are glad to have McNown in the Bay Area.

"This is an opportunity to take a good look at a player we liked a great deal several years ago,'' general manager Terry Donahue, who recruited McNown to UCLA in his final years as Bruins coach, told the Associated Press. "We'd like to see if that potential is still there, and whether we could develop it.

"There's been a lot of guys taken in the first round at that position that haven't been successful,'' Donahue said. "There's lots of reasons. Sometimes it's the player's fault, sometimes it's the fit. I think I'll know more after Cade has had a chance to be in our system and work with our coaches.''

McNown was acquired last Aug. 22 along with a seventh-round choice from Bears for a sixth-round choice last year and a seventh-round choice in 2003. He spent the entire season as the team's designated third quarterback and didn't play a team.

"I'm looking forward to my opportunity with the 49ers,'' McNown said in a statement issued by Miami. "I know I can be a quality player in the league, and I hope I get a chance to show that in San Francisco.''

McNown, 25, was a first-round choice of the Bears in 1999. He played in 25 games, starting 15, but only won three. He completed 281 of 515 passes for 3,111 yards and 16 touchdowns. Running from the backfield, McNown gained 486 yards on 82 carries.

Fourteen fumbles and few victories, however, didn't win much support from his former Bears teammates. After two years, the Bears decided to move a different position with the quarterback position. They ended up going to the playoffs.

The Dolphins also released linebacker Corey Moore, fullback Matt Kalapinski and wide receiver Darnell McDonald.

Niners also get DT Flanigan: Former Packers defensive tackle Jim Flanigan picked the 49ers over the Vikings on Thursday by agreeing to a two-year contract. Terms of the deal weren't available.

The 49ers were looking for another defensive tackle to add to their rotation. Being a playoff team and being a team that has usually been popular former Notre Dame players, the 49ers felt confident in being able to recruit Flanigan, who came out of Notre Dame in 1994.

Flanigan will work into the defensive tackle rotation with former Fighting Irish star Bryant Young and veterans Dana Stubblefield and Reggie McGrew.

A former third-round choice with the Bears, Flanigan spent seven sevens in Chicago and one with the Packers. The 6-2, 288-pound Flanigan, 30, recently visited the Vikings, a team that was looking for ignite more competition on the defensive line.

At one point Wednesday, the Vikings thought they would get Flanigan, but when coach Mike Tice and staff checked into the office Thursday, they learned that Flanigan had a different idea.

John Clayton is a senior writer at ESPN.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.