The San Francisco 49ers' preseason is over after their final tuneup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Starting quarterback Brock Purdy looked in a much better rhythm than in his previous appearance against the New Orleans Saints , but the game was much more important for those scrapping for one of the final places on the roster.
With the exhibition schedule now in the rearview mirror, I make my final prediction for the 49ers' initial 53-man roster
Note: Players with single asterisk (*) are 2024 draft picks and players with double asterisks (**) are 2024 undrafted free agents.
Quarterback (3)
IN: Brock Purdy, Joshua Dobbs, Brandon Allen
OUT: Tanner Mordecai**
The Skinny: It’s not clear who will be the QB2 behind Purdy, but both Dobbs and Allen have enjoyed preseasons that should make the 49ers confident in their backup options.
Running back (5)
IN: Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk, Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo*, Elijah Mitchell
OUT: Cody Schrader**, Patrick Taylor, Matt Breida, Ke'Shawn Vaughn
The skinny: Guerendo lit up his 49ers debut with a 93-yard return against the Raiders, demonstrating the kind of home-run ability that convinced San Francisco to draft him. Mitchell didn't play at all in the exhibition schedule, but his experience gives him a slight edge over Schrader.
Wide receiver (6)
IN: Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall*, Jacob Cowing*, Chris Conley
OUT: Ronnie Bell, Danny Gray, Tay Martin, Trent Taylor, Robbie Chosen, Jontre Kirklin
The skinny: The big question, beyond Brandon Aiyuk signing a long-term deal, is whether Pearsall will start the year on the active roster, or if the 49ers place him on an injury list after his persistent shoulder problems.
Tight end (4)
IN: George Kittle, Eric Saubert, Logan Thomas, Jake Tonges
OUT: Cameron Latu, Brayden Willis, Mason Pline**
The skinny: The 49ers punt on both of their tight end draft picks from the 2023 season, with Latu and Willis falling victim to a late push from Tonges and San Francisco's decision to bring back veteran Thomas this week.
Offensive line (9)
IN: Trent Williams (LT), Aaron Banks (LG), Jake Brendel (C), Dominick Puni* (RG), Colton McKivitz (RT), Chris Hubbard, Nick Zakelj, Jarrett Kingston*, Jaylon Moore
OUT: Spencer Burford, Sebastian Gutierrez, Isaac Alarcon, Lewis Kidd, Ben Bartch, Brandon Parker, Drake Nugent**, Jon Feliciano (IR)
The skinny: The surprise is the omission of right guard Burford, but the 49ers now have a lot of versatility on the interior line thanks to the emergence of Puni and Kingston and Zakelj’s strong preseason. Burford can play tackle as well as guard but the broken hand he suffered in camp has put him in a very difficult spot. The struggles of their backup tackles in the preseason finale underlined the need to get contract holdout Williams back in the building.
Defensive line (8)
IN: Nick Bosa (DE), Javon Hargrave, (DT), Maliek Collins (DT), Leonard Floyd (DE), Yetur Gross-Matos, Kevin Givens, Jordan Elliott, Robert Beal Jr.
OUT: Kalia Davis (IR RETURN), T.Y. McGill, Alex Barrett, Nick Williams, Jonathan Garvin, Shakel Brown, Sam Okuayinonu, Evan Anderson**
The Skinny: The 49ers’ D-Line rotation for 2024 is not a deep one, but their starting four in the trenches has the talent to tilt games in their favor. After injury scares for both Floyd and Gross-Matos in the preseason finale, this may be an area to which the 49ers look to add.
Linebacker (5)
IN: Fred Warner (MIKE), De'Vondre Campbell (WILL), Dee Winters (SAM), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Tatum Bethune*
OUT: Curtis Robinson, Jalen Graham, Dre Greenlaw (PUP)
The skinny: Robinson and Graham will likely both land on the practice squad if they clear waivers. Despite Greenlaw’s absence, there is a case to be made for this being the deepest position group on the 49ers’ roster.
Cornerback (6)
IN: Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green*, Isaac Yiadom, Rock Ya-Sin, Darrell Luter Jr.
OUT: Chase Lucas, Ambry Thomas (IR RETURN), Samuel Womack III, Kemon Hall
The skinny: The 49ers have vastly improved their depth at the cornerback position, which now stands as one of the strongest on the roster . The remaining unresolved issue concerns the battle between Green and Yiadom for the third spot on the depth chart.
Safety (4)
IN: Ji'Ayir Brown, Talanoa Hufanga, Malik Mustapha*, George Odum
OUT: Tracy Walker, Jaylen Mahoney**
The skinny: Hufanga faces a race against time to be ready for Week 1. If he isn’t, it will be a fight between rookie Mustapha and core special teamer Odum to fill the void after both enjoyed strong preseasons.
Specialists (3)
IN: Jake Moody (K), Mitch Wishnowsky (P), Taylor Pepper (LS)
OUT: Pressley Harvin III
The skinny: No surprises here, but expect the 49ers to keep Harvin’s phone number in case Wishnowsky is hurt again.
The Final Word
As has been the case for a long time, the main questions on this roster concern the wide receiver position and the offensive line as the contract impasses involving Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams continue.
Should the 49ers get both of those resolved, their roster will once again be in excellent shape to contend for the Super Bowl. There’s reason to be a little concerned about the depth on the defensive line and at safety, but elsewhere the strength in depth has been swelled, thanks in part to a rookie class that has substantially impressed in preseason.
Related: 49ers coach makes encouraging statement about revamped position group that will be crucial to success
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