The San Francisco 49ers got creative in managing some tough cuts Sunday afternoon to get down to a 53-man roster, letting go of their punter and long snapper.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t worry, Corliss Waitman and Jon Weeks, neither of whom is subject to waivers, will sign back on Monday as the team continues to tinker with the initial roster.<\/p>\n
The 49ers could put only two players \u2014 receiver Christian Kirk and offensive lineman Austen Pleasants \u2014 on injured reserve with a designation to return before Sunday\u2019s 3 p.m. PT cutdown deadline, as part of their effort to reduce the roster from 90 players to 53. They can make more of those moves starting Monday, with linebacker Nick Martin (hamstring), cornerback Nate Hobbs (groin) and cornerback Ephesians Prysock (shoulder) among the candidates.<\/p>\n
Here are our thoughts on the initial 53-man roster, with plenty of transactions still to come.<\/p>\n
Rookies in italics<\/p>\n
Top Plays from 49ers @ Raiders<\/p>\n
Offense (26)Quarterback (3): Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke<\/p>\n
Cut:<\/strong> Adrian Martinez<\/p>\n The 49ers kept Rourke \u2014 despite his three broken ribs \u2014 and cut Martinez. That suggests Rourke has recovered enough to serve as the emergency No. 3 quarterback early in the season. Rourke, in fact, could resume practicing this week, coach Kyle Shanahan said. It also signals that the plan to have Rourke at least compete for the No. 2 role next year, with Jones likely to leave as a free agent, remains intact.<\/p>\n Running back (4): Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback)<\/p>\n PUP:<\/strong> Isaac Guerendo<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> Sincere McCormick, Khalil Herbert<\/p>\n Putting Guerendo on the reserve\/PUP list for the pectoral tear he suffered in the spring means he must miss at least the first four games of the season, though he can resume practicing after Week 2. The 49ers seem as well-stocked at running back as they\u2019ve been in a while. Add Deebo Samuel to the mix, and it ought to reduce McCaffrey\u2019s workload this season.<\/p>\n Wide receiver (6): Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, De\u2019Zhaun Stribling, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing<\/p>\n Injured reserve (return designation):<\/strong> Christian Kirk<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> KhaDarel Hodge, Will Pauling, Wesley Grimes, Malik Turner, Trenton Irwin<\/p>\n The roles seem largely clear-cut: Evans, Samuel and Stribling will be the top three receivers, while Cowing will serve as the punt returner. The only remaining question is: If the 49ers suit up only five receivers in Week 1, like they normally do, who is the odd man out, Watkins or Robinson?<\/p>\n Undrafted rookies Pauling and Grimes could be heading to the practice squad Monday. So could Hodge, who stood out on special teams this summer and could be someone the 49ers elevate when the coverage units need a boost.<\/p>\n Tight end (4): George Kittle, Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell, Brayden Willis<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> Khalil Dinkins, Hayden Rucci<\/p>\n That the 49ers kept a fourth tight end in Willis seems like a hedge against Kittle\u2019s Week 1 availability. Kittle has a chance to play<\/a> against the Rams but has acknowledged he won\u2019t rush it if he\u2019s not ready<\/a>. Look for Dinkins, a blocking specialist the team is excited about, to return to the practice squad if he\u2019s not snapped up on waivers.<\/p>\n Offensive line (9): LT Trent Williams, LG Carver Willis, C Jake Brendel, RG Dominick Puni, RT Colton McKivitz, OT Vederian Lowe, C\/G Jarrett Patterson, G Connor Colby, OT Enrique Cruz Jr.<\/p>\n IR (return designation): <\/strong>Austen Pleasants<\/p>\n IR:\u00a0<\/strong>Brett Toth, Nick Zakelj<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> Robert Jones, Brandon Parker, Drake Nugent, Isaac Alarcon, Doug Kramer Jr.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s news that the 49ers were releasing Jones was a bit of a surprise. But it made more sense minutes later when the 49ers finalized a trade for Patterson, sending next year\u2019s seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans. Patterson, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has experience at guard and center, and the 49ers needed a backup at both spots considering Toth\u2019s lingering concussion symptoms. Patterson spent the 2023 and \u201924 seasons under then-Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who runs a version of Shanahan\u2019s offense. That suggests the newcomer won\u2019t have a steep learning curve.<\/p>\n The 49ers also put Pleasants (knee) on injured reserve with a designation to return. That means they think Lowe will return from his high-ankle sprain in time to serve as the backup tackle in Week 1. If not, that job falls to the rookie, Cruz. Toth, who has been dealing with concussion symptoms for more than three weeks, can play this season only if the 49ers reach an injury settlement with him.<\/p>\n Defense (26)Defensive line (9): DE Nick Bosa, DT Osa Odighizuwa, DT Alfred Collins, DE Romello Height, DE Keion White, DE Sam Okuayinonu, DT CJ West, DT Gracen Halton, DT James Thompson Jr.<\/p>\n PUP:<\/strong> Mykel Williams<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> DT Sebastian Valdez, DT Bryson Eason, DT Evan Anderson, DE Ogbo Okoronkwo, DE Quinton Bell, DE Viliami Fehoko Jr., DE Jah Joyner<\/p>\n Thompson, out of Illinois, wasn\u2019t drafted because of his odd build, the story went. Niners right tackle Colton McKivitz said the first time he saw Thompson, he thought he was an offensive lineman. But Thompson quickly made an impression with his ability to get low and move people out of his way. Halton, a fourth-round rookie, also had a very good camp and preseason, so the 49ers are going with five defensive tackles.<\/p>\n Bosa, meanwhile, would ideally return to practice Monday with the tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee feeling better, or the Niners will have some serious issues with their pass rush.<\/p>\n Linebacker (7): Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Jaden Dugger, Nick Martin, Garret Wallow, Luke Gifford, Tatum Bethune<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> Deion Jones, Larry Worth III, Jalen Graham<\/p>\n Wallow and Bethune both made the 53, and this is one of the deeper units on the team, although at least one of this group could still be headed for a stint on IR. It will be interesting to see how much coordinator Raheem Morris throws Dugger into the fire against the Rams in the opener. Worth, a tall converted safety with long arms, is a candidate for the practice squad.<\/p>\n Cornerback (6): Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Jack Jones, Ephesians Prysock, Nate Hobbs<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> Darrell Luter Jr., Eli Apple, Jakob Robinson<\/p>\n Green (hamstring), Prysock (shoulder) and Hobbs (groin) are battling injuries, so we\u2019ll see if the 49ers claim a cornerback on waivers, and whether one of those three will hit injured reserve. Hobbs has not practiced since mid-August, Green was injured in the second preseason game and Prysock went down in the finale. Any of the three guys who were cut could be back on the practice squad, as well.<\/p>\n Safety (4): Ji\u2019Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle, Malik Mustapha, Siran Neal<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> Ashtyn Davis, Jalen Stroman, Patrick McMorris<\/p>\n Neal was one of the key players behind the special teams unit\u2019s breakthrough season a year ago, and that clearly means something. He also played outside cornerback in the preseason finale, showing his versatility. Davis made a late push but came up short. Mustapha missed most of camp with a hamstring injury but was moving well while working with trainers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Special teams (1)PK Eddy Pi\u00f1eiro<\/p>\n Cut:<\/strong> P Corliss Waitman, LS Jon Weeks<\/p>\n Good thing Pi\u00f1eiro hit six field goals on Thursday night \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Francisco 49ers got creative in managing some tough cuts Sunday afternoon to get down to a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1034617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,9005,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1034616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117189194366040272","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}