The San Francisco 49ers still have two preseason games left to play before they trim the roster from 91 to 53 and focus on the serious business of regular-season football.
San Francisco hosts the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Levi's Stadium in the 49ers' lone home game of the exhibition schedule. It's not clear yet whether the starters will play or if Brock Purdy's lone tuneup will be against the Las Vegas Raiders a week from Saturday.
But it will still be crucial for those players on the fringes hoping to crack the 53. After encouraging performances by several players in the preseason opener, here's my latest prediction for how the initial roster will turn out.
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: The big question is whether it's Dobbs or Allen as the second-stringer. Allen looked extremely comfortable and decisive against the Titans, while Dobbs displayed his playmaking upside. Either way, the 49ers have to feel happy in their options at this point.
Running back (5)
IN: Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk, Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo*, Cody Schrader**
OUT: Elijah Mitchell, Patrick Taylor, Matt Breida, Ke'Shawn Vaughn
The skinny: Mason has emerged as the clear frontrunner to be RB2 while Mitchell and Guerendo have both sat out through injury. Mitchell looks more like a cut or trade candidate with each passing day.
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, Terique Owens** (IR), Robbie Chosen, Jontre Kirklin
The skinny: The winds appear to be blowing in the direction of an Aiyuk extension rather than a trade, though how his saga will settled is still very much up in the air. Conley could be stashed on the practice squad as he was last year, but he's shown enough as a receiver and has value on special teams that the 49ers would probably like to have for the entirety of the season rather than just for a few games.
Tight end (3)
IN: George Kittle, Eric Saubert, Brayden Willis
OUT: Cameron Latu, Jake Tonges, Mason Pline**
The skinny: Injuries played a role in the 49ers deciding to part with veteran Logan Thomas, whose struggles staying healthy allowed Saubert to take a stranglehold on the TE2 role. Willis has impressed in camp and seems a strong bet to hang on to a roster spot.
Offensive line (10)
IN: Trent Williams (LT), Aaron Banks (LG), Jake Brendel (C), Dominick Puni* (RG), Colton McKivitz (RT), Jon Feliciano, Chris Hubbard, Ben Bartch, Jarrett Kingston*, Jaylon Moore
OUT: Spencer Burford, Sebastian Gutierrez, Isaac Alarcon, Lewis Kidd, Nick Zakelj, Brandon Parker, Drake Nugent**
The skinny: Hubbard was a little underwhelming against Tennessee, a game Moore missed through illness, while Kingston joined fellow rookie Puni in producing a clean sheet in terms of pressures allowed. As a recent draft pick, Kingston figures to be harder to sneak onto the practice squad and offers guard-tackle flexibility. The 49ers still have faith in Moore's ability as a swing tackle but they'll likely want to have two backups behind Trent Williams (this is assuming the 49ers eventually get a deal done with the future Hall of Famer) and Colton McKivitz. Burford was a fourth-round pick in 2022 but has spent much of a crucial training camp after his costly Super Bowl error on the sideline with a broken hand. He doesn't offer the guard-center flexibility of Bartch, so it's easy to see the 49ers admitting defeat and letting him walk.
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: Drake Jackson (IR), Austin Bryant (IR), Kalia Davis (IR RETURN), T.Y. McGill, Alex Barrett, Nick Williams, Jonathan Garvin, Shakel Brown, Sam Okuayinonu, Evan Anderson**
The Skinny: Injuries have hit the 49ers' depth on the defensive line and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them add to their edge rush options given the lack of pressure from the outside in the preseason opener. Recent signings Williams and Garvin are strong practice squad possibilities along with undrafted rookie Anderson.
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: It's unclear when Greenlaw will return and general manager John Lynch has previously spoken about him starting the year on PUP. Winters has received significant plaudits during the workout program and appears to be the favroite to start on base downs, at least while Greenlaw is out. Flannigan-Fowles' base salary of $1.76 million is guaranteed, making him a near certainty to make the team. Bethune was outstanding against the Titans and might be a difficult player to stash on the practice squad.
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: There's no guarantee the 49ers stash Thomas on injured reserve given how poorly he played against the Titans before breaking his arm. Luter was already a strong candidate for a place on the roster given how he highly the 49ers regard last year's fifth-round pick. Ya-Sin has guaranteed money on his deal and played well against the Titans.
Safety (4)
IN: Ji'Ayir Brown, Talanoa Hufanga, Malik Mustapha*, George Odum
OUT: Tayler Hawkins, Tracy Walker, Jaylen Mahoney**
The skinny: San Francisco has been very impressed with how Odum has taken advantage of first-team reps in Hufanga's absence as he recovers from a torn ACL. With Mustapha also catching the eye as a fourth-round rookie, the 49ers appear happy with their safety depth. Walker could serve as extra insurance on the practice squad.
Specialists (3)
IN: Jake Moody (K), Mitch Wishnowsky (P), Taylor Pepper (LS)
OUT: Pressley Harvin III
The skinny: No changes from 2023. The 49ers' special teams unit overall wasn't great last year, but Moody finished a rookie season that had some lows extremely strongly in the Super Bowl and Wishnowsky had the best season of his career. More of the same, and improved play from the coverage units as the league adapts to new kickoff rules, will be required.
The Final Word
The 49ers still have the best roster in football in the eyes of the most, though opinions may change if they end up dealing Aiyuk.
San Francisco will have a lot of tough decisions to make at the bottom of the roster, with most pertaining to a wide receiver position where few have stood out in Aiyuk's absence and an offensive line that appears deeper than in years gone by. With how often injuries, and particularly injuries in the trenches, derail seasons, making the right decisions in the latter area will be critical.
Related: 49ers' George Kittle labels Trent Williams the greatest of all time, but sees upside to his continued absence
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