49ers finalize 53-man roster with focus on O-line, a few surprises

Really, for the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL’s Sunday afternoon deadline to trim their roster down to 53 players was more like a starting bell.

“I always tell everyone, the final 53,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week, “all that means is the final 53 that day.”

But we now know at least the initial shape of the roster that the 49ers will take with them to Australia for next Thursday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, and there weren’t too many surprises for anyone paying close attention to training camp.

The most moving and shaking on cutdown day came at the 49ers’ least settled position group as they waived Robert Jones — initially a favorite for the left guard job — and traded for another veteran interior lineman, Jarrett Patterson, who should help with issues at guard and center.

Here’s a breakdown of the 49ers’ 53-man roster and the decisions that went into it:

Quarterbacks (3)

Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke

Waived: Adrian Martinez

The implications here aren’t so much about 2026, but 2027.

Rourke, a seventh-round pick in 2025, apparently showed San Francisco enough in one (impressive) half of preseason football to give them confidence that he can be Purdy’s backup next season, when Jones is likely to be eyeing one of the other 31 starting jobs. He broke three ribs in his lone preseason appearance but is expected to return to practice this week.

Running backs/fullback (4)

Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James, Kyle Juszczyk

PUP: Isaac Guerendo
Waived: Sincere McCormick
Released: Khalil Herbert

The same reason the 49ers’ running backs room was filled with question marks two weeks ago is why it was relatively straightforward come cutdown day: health.

McCaffrey, Black and James all returned to practice and look like a fearsome trio. What they saw from McCormick and Herbert in the interim surely has them crossing their fingers about keeping them around on the practice squad, especially given McCaffrey’s injury history.

Wide receivers (6)

Mike Evans, De’Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins

IR/designated to return: Christian Kirk
Released: KhaDarel Hodge, Trenton Irwin, Malik Turner
Waived: Will Pauling, Wesley Grimes

Kirk hasn’t practiced since the first day of training camp and now won’t be able to until Week 3, and won’t be eligible to play his first game until Week 5, after landing on injured reserve.

That opened a roster spot that in all likelihood came down to Watkins and Hodge. San Francisco went with the upside of Watkins over the proven special teams ability of Hodge, who is likely to be welcomed back on the practice squad if he doesn’t sign elsewhere.

Tight ends (4)

George Kittle, Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell, Brayden Willis

Waived: Hayden Rucci, Khalil Dinkins

This was the spot to watch regarding Kittle’s status for Week 1. Had the team carried only two other tight ends, it would have been a strong indication the Niners expected their superstar to be ready to go. But rostering a fourth in Willis gives them insurance in case Kittle needs more time coming back from the Achilles he tore only this past January.

Offensive linemen (9)

Trent Williams, Carver Willis, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz, Enrique Cruz Jr., Vederian Lowe, Connor Colby, Jarrett Patterson

IR/designated to return: Austen Pleasants
IR: Brett Toth, Nick Zakelj
Released: Robert Jones, Doug Kramer Jr., Brandon Parker
Waived: Isaac Alarcón, Drake Nugent

Although it would appear that Colby lost the starting left guard competition to Willis, he maintained his roster spot, and the 49ers brought in more insurance for a group of interior linemen that didn’t exactly make it an easy decision for Shanahan and Co.

The concussion Toth suffered early in camp was apparently severe, as neither he nor Zakelj will be eligible to play this season. Additionally, Shanahan had said that Lowe was a candidate for the IR/designation to return, while Pleasants was expected to return to practice in Australia, but their outlooks have since apparently flip-flopped.

The biggest development for this group, though, had nothing to do with the 49ers: They’d better start preparing to block Aaron Donald next Thursday.

Defensive linemen (10)

Nick Bosa, Osa Odighizuwa, Keion White, Alfred Collins, C.J. West, Romello Height, Gracen Halton, Sam Okuayinonu, James Thompson Jr., Ogbo Okoronkwo

PUP: Mykell Williams
Released: Quinton Bell
Waived: Evan Anderson, Bryson Eason, Viliami Fehoko, Jah Joyner, Sebastian Valdez

The 49ers, who ranked last in sacks a season ago, have yet to practice with their top pass rusher, Bosa, and won’t get his counterpart in Williams back until at least Week 5.

Halton, a rookie defensive tackle, hasn’t practiced since injuring his ankle in their first exhibition. That may have opened the door for Thompson Jr. — an undrafted free agent out of Illinois — to claim the final roster spot, with his primary competition being Valdez.

Linebackers (7)

Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Jaden Dugger, Garret Wallow, Tatum Bethune, Nick Martin, Luke Gifford

Released: Deion Jones 
Waived: Larry Worth III, Jalen Graham

Dugger emerged as the winner of the long, athletic archetype that seems to be a fit in new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris’ scheme and across the league. That will leave Worth III and Graham exposed to waivers before they can re-sign to the practice squad.

There could be some roster manipulation elsewhere: Jones, who has a long history with Morris, can re-sign as a vested veteran. Meanwhile, Martin and Gifford may be candidates to be transferred to injured reserve, opening two more roster spots.

Cornerbacks (5)

Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs

Waived: Jakob Robinson, Darrell Luter Jr. 
Released: Eli Apple

Besides a groin injury that has sidelined Hobbs recently, this has been one of the Niners’ strongest and most stable groups throughout training camp. No surprises here.

Safeties (4)

Ji’Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle, Malik Mustapha, Siran Neal

Released: Ashtyn Davis
Waived: Patrick McMorris, Jalen Stroman

The biggest competition — to start opposite Brown — never quite materialized as Mustapha missed most of camp with a hamstring injury and Sigle emerged as the clear starter.

That left Neal and Davis to duke it out over the fourth and final spot, and the 49ers went with the special teams ace who showed he can also step over to cornerback in a pinch, too. 

Specialists (1)

K Eddy Piñeiro

Released: P Corliss Waitman, LS Jon Weeks

Evidence of just how fickle the roster’s initial configuration is: The 49ers will re-sign Waitman and Weeks once they open spots by placing others on injured reserve in the coming days.

There’s been nothing to decide here since punter Jack Bouwmeester was released before their first preseason game, especially given the strong camps from Piñeiro and Waitman.

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