Finally, the San Francisco 49ers’ 53-man roster is here.
Quarterbacks (3): Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke
The only question here was what the team would do with Rourke. Would he be stashed on the Injured Reserve, or make the roster? That question was answered. Rourke was healthy enough to make the roster.
Running backs(4): Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James, Kyle Juszczyk
With Isaac Guerendo landing on the PUP and the top three backs returning to practice, there were no real surprises as to who made the roster.
It’s worth noting that the 49ers had Jordan James covering punts and kicks in the preseason finale. Perhaps
that’s to see how he fared and whether he could handle that role. Kaelon Black did not play special teams, which is a sign he’s the RB2, if there was ever any doubt.
Wide receivers (6): Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, De’Zhaun Stribling, Jacob Cowing, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins
Cowing secured a job with an 83-yard punt return in Week 2 of the preseason. The next question was whether Jordan Watkins would stay and whether Christian Kirk would become an IR stash.
The 49ers kept Watkins and Cowing. I wonder if Watkins will cover kicks or be the kickoff returner. That’s a role where Deebo excels
Tight ends(4): George Kittle, Luke Farrell, Jake Tonges, Brayden Willis
Good ‘ol Mike Florio woke up on Sunday morning trying to agitate the masses, only for Adam Schefter to shoot it down and say Kittle is still in line to play in Week 1.
Kittle returning is massive for the 49ers. Everybody knows what he means to the offense.
Willis making the roster in Week 1 feels like a hedge in the event Kittle isn’t ready.
Offensive line (9): Trent Williams, Carver Willis, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz, Jarrett Patterson, Vederian Lowe, Enrique Cruz Jr., Connor Colby
The Patterson trade is being chalked up as a depth signing, but he has more experience than Carver Willis and has spent multiple seasons playing in the Niners’ scheme under Bobby Slowik. I wonder if the team will give Patterson a look as a starter if they feel like Willis isn’t ready. Even if he is, Patterson is an option down the line.
The other question was what the 49ers would do with Connor Colby and Enrique Cruz. Vederian Lowe’s health could’ve potentially sealed Cruz’s fate, while the same is true for Brett Toth and Colby. Toth will begin the season on the IR.
Defensive line (9): Nick Bosa, Osa Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins, Sam Okuayinonu, Romello Height, Gracen Halton, CJ West, Keion White, James Thompson Jr.
The first two names on this list are going to do a lot of the heavy lifting this season for the 49ers. This team may go as those two do. The rest of the group is largely young and inexperienced. We’ll quickly find out who can and cannot play, and how much seasoning they need before they’re ready.
Get well soon, Mykel.
Good for Thompson Jr., by the way. He had the fifth-highest win percentage in the preseason among all defensive tackles in true pass sets at 30 percent. Thompson Jr. made the most of his opportunity. He is a mountain of a man who should contribute as a role player as he learns under Kris Kocurek.
The defensive tackle rotation figures to be fluid for a while.
We’ll see if the team re-signs Ogbo Okonkwo, if they feel like they cannot add another body at the position after the waivers settle.
Linebackers (7): Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Jaden Dugger, Luke Gifford, Tatum Bethune, Garret Wallow, Nick Martin
Nick Martin and Luke Gifford were the question marks at this spot. Both are battling injuries. We haven’t seen Gifford since the first week of August, while Martin’s injury happened late in the second preseason game.
The question was whether the team would place both Martin and Gifford on IR and use their roster spots for another linebacker. The 49ers kept both on the roster.
Bethune feels like he can be a core special teamer. Kyle Shanahan raved about him last year when Bethune was in for Fred Warner. He’s a great run defender.
Cornerbacks (7): Renardo Green, Deommodore Lenoir, Upton Stout, Jack Jones, Ephesians Prysock, Nate Hobbs, Siran Neal
What you see is what you get with the 49ers cornerbacks. This group was relatively set in stone, barring a Jakob Robinson or Siran Neal making it. Neal means too much to the special teams.
However, Nate Hobbs making the roster means the Niners weren’t willing to give up on him, despite missing all of training camp and the preseason.
Safety(3): Ji’Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle, Malik Mustapha
Copy and paste from above, but there weren’t any options outside of Ashtyn Davis, who will live on special teams. However, he was released.
When will we see Malik? The safety competition never materialized after Mustapha missed most of the month. He wasn’t a lock to start, for what it’s worth. Mustapha was in the rotation.
Specials(1): Eddy Pineiro
If they perform as they did in the preseason, the 49ers combination of punter and kicker has a chance to be the best its been under this regime.
The 49ers waived punter Corliss Waitman and long snapper Jon Weeks. But this is a move they’ve done before and another way to ensure players they don’t want to risk losing on the waiver wire stay on the roster. We can expect both players to re-sign and be on the team by Monday. Neither player is subject to waivers.
