49ers Final 53 Man Roster Prediction
The 2026 NFL Preseason is over. The cutdown deadline is on August 30th at 3pm PST.
It's time to chop.
37 of the men on the current roster will be jobless by Sunday night. Of course, 16 players will be added to the practice squad, and those 16 will all likely come from those 37.
We will be going through all 90 players and predicting which 53 men will be sticking around.
The big problem is injured reserve.
It's more of a who, not an if, the 49ers are putting on injured reserve prior to the season. There are options of which players, and certain methods.
OT Vederian Lowe (ankle sprain) missed all of camp.
WR Christian Kirk (calf strain) missed all of camp.
CB Nate Hobbs (groin) was injured in Preseason Week 1.
LB Nick Martin (hamstring) was injured in Preseason Week 2.
CB Renardo Green (hamstring) was injured in Preseason Week 2.
CB Ephesians Prysock (AC joint) was injured in Preseason Week 3.
I do not know the extent of these injuries, but the team should. Maybe they're back tomorrow, maybe not until midseason. These are the top IR candidates. Now for the different IR methods:
Season-ending IR: More likely for a young player, they can "redshirt" and do everything except practice with the team during the season. Keep them around without taking up a roster or IR spot
IR, designated for return: Players on IR must miss 4 weeks, and 8 players can be activated off of IR during the season.
PUP: The 49ers now have just two players on the Physically Unable to Perform list, in RB Isaac Guerendo and DE Mykel Williams. If they stay on this list, they have to miss at least 4 weeks.
It is hard to project what the 49ers will do with their injured players, especially when you consider that I have zero information regarding their potential return dates.
What I will do in this article is project who I think will make the initial 53 man roster. All players who do not make the projection that could be placed on an injured list will be designated as so.
I will also make note of who I believe are the most likely candidates for the practice squad.
Now let's get into the cuts:
* = practice squad candidate, Italics = Rookie.
Quarterback:
3 - Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke
Cut - Adrian Martinez*
A fairly predictable spot. The one question is with Kurtis Rourke, who broke 3 ribs a in Week 1 of the preseason. There's a chance the 49ers put him on the injured list if they covet a roster spot. But I think the 49ers love Rourke, and he's essentially a lock to be on this roster.
Running Back:
4 - Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James, Kyle Juszczyk
PUP - Isaac Guerendo
Cut - Sincere McCormick*, Khalil Herbert
Another predictable area. I don't believe the 49ers will keep an extra veteran in McCormick or Herbert. They'd probably like to have one of them on the practice squad, but the three backs, plus Juszczyk and eventually Guerendo if needed, should be enough depth. Deebo Samuel can take some carries as well.
Wide Receiver:
6 - Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, De'Zhaun Stribling, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing
IR - Christian Kirk, Wesley Grimes
Cut - Malik Turner*, KhaDarel Hodge*, Will Pauling*, Trenton Irwin
Christian Kirk strained his calf on Day 1 of camp, and we have not really gotten a real update. I doubt the 49ers want to release a player like Kirk, but I also doubt he has trade value, being injured all camp. Stash him on IR and break glass in case of emergency. Cowing sneaks on due to being the best return man of the group, and the others I find to be fairly safe.
Wesley Grimes has had a wrist/hand issue, so the 49ers could add him to IR to avoid using a practice squad spot.
Tight End:
3 - George Kittle, Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell
Cut - Brayden Willis, Hayden Rucci*, Khalil Dinkins*
An easy three to keep, the practice squad is the bigger question. Willis is now concussed, so maybe he's an IR candidate to keep him around. But Willis, along with Hayden Rucci and Khalil Dinkins, are desirable options for the practice squad.
Offensive Tackle:
4 - Trent Williams, Colton McKivitz, Vederian Lowe
IR - Austen Pleasants
Cut - Enrique Cruz Jr*, Brandon Parker, Isaac Alarcón*
Lowe and Pleasants are both hurt. It is likely one of them ends up on injured reserve.
Pleasants would be the "preferable" option, as the 49ers could theoretically release Pleasants from IR, avoiding using 1 of their 8 activations from the season.
If a fourth tackle is needed due to injury, Cruz Jr was a 5th round pick who OL coach Chris Foerster would probably prefer to keep around.
Alarcón was apart of the International Pathway Program, so he can make the practice squad as a 17th member, exceeding the 16 player rule.
Interior Offensive Line:
5 - Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Carver Willis, Robert Jones, Connor Colby
IR - Brett Toth
Cut - Drake Nugent*, Nick Zakelj, Doug Cramer
One of Brett Toth or Robert Jones could land on IR, Toth with a head/neck issue and Joens with a calf issue. If both end up there, or even just Toth, Drake Nugent could land on the roster to be the backup center. I anticipate Colby being the odd man out if so.
Interior Defensive Line:
5 - Osa Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins, CJ West, Gracen Halton, James Thompson Jr
Cut - Sebastian Valdez*, Bryson Eason*, Evan Anderson
The first four men listed should be locks for this roster, although Halton is currently banged up. Sebastian Valdez may have the edge over James Thompson Jr because he contributes on special teams, but Thompson looked like he could play a bigger role based on the preseason.
Defensive End:
5 - Nick Bosa, Keion White, Sam Okuayinonu, Romello Height, Ogbo Okoronkwo
PUP - Mykel Williams
Cut - Quinton Bell*, Jah Joyner, Viliami Fehoko
Is four healthy defensive ends enough? Probably not, which is why Ogbo Okoronkwo sneaks onto the roster. He is a good pass rusher and can take real reps on all downs. Ideally, Mykel Williams is healthy and Okoronkwo is more of a practice squad call-up type of a player, but that's not happening here.
The real question is if Mykel Williams is ready for Week 1. I am guessing the answer is no, despite a vaguely optimistic answer from Kyle Shanahan in his recent press conference.
Linebacker:
6 - Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Luke Gifford, Jaden Dugger, Garret Wallow, Tatum Bethune
IR - Nick Martin
Cut - Jalen Graham, Deion Jones, Larry Worth III*
Gifford and Martin are both dealing with hamstring injuries, with unknown timelines. With the amount of LB depth the 49ers have, I expect one to be placed on injured reserve.
All backers are fit for the practice squad, but you don't need to fill up p-squad spots at a position where you already have depth.
Cornerback:
7 - Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Jack Jones, Ephesians Prysock, Siran Neal, Darrell Luter Jr
IR - Nate Hobbs
Cut - Jakob Robinson*, Eli Apple
Another position where I expect a player to be placed on IR. Prysock suffered a shoulder injury in the final preseason game, and Nate Hobbs has missed most of training camp, most recently with a groin issue.
Luter could be released, but the 49ers staff has loved him over the years, and he is a good run defender and special teamer.
Safety:
3 - Ji'Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle, Malik Mustapha
Cut - Ashtyn Davis*, Jalen Stroman*, Patrick McMorris
Only keeping 3 safeties, but Siran Neal, and maybe even Upton Stout, could take reps at safety. Davis is not worth using a roster spot on, especially with the special teams skills of Neal and Luter.
Mustapha has missed nearly a month of training camp with a hamstring issue, so he is an IR candidate as well.
Special Teams:
3 - Eddy Pineiro, Jon Weeks, Corliss Waitman
No questions here, what a relief. The special teams unit should be excellent this season.
There is your 53 man roster. Here it is visualized on a sheet.
Here are the 6 veteran practice squad spot:
QB Adrian Martinez
RB Sincere McCormick
WRs KhaDarel Hodge, Malik Turner
DE Quinton Bell
S Ashtyn Davis
And the 10 youth spots:
WR Will Pauling
TEs Hayden Rucci and Khalil Dinkins
OL Enrique Cruz Jr, Drake Nugent
DTs Sebastian Valdez, Bryson Eason
DBs Jakob Robinson, Jalen Stroman
6 players ended up on "injured reserve", with one having an "out for the year" designation(Wesley Grimes).
WR Christian Kirk
OL Austen Pleasants, Brett Toth
LB Nick Martin
CB Nate Hobbs
These 5 are all likely to be activated some point after the 4 week minimum.
And I kept the two players that are on the PUP list.
RB Isaac Guerendo
DE Mykel Williams
Just over 24 hours until the roster is chopped to 53 players.
With the situation the 49ers are in, there will be a lot of maneuvering with injured reserve, waivers, and some veterans may be straight-up released, with a promise to be brought back later. They did the latter with punter Thomas Morstead last year.
Let me know your thoughts on my prediction. Who are you rooting for to be kept on the end of the roster? Who do you think will be a darkhorse contributor to the 49ers this season?
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