49ers roster battles: 7 positions to watch in preseason finale vs. Chargers (paywall)
“The first four spots seem like they’ll go to Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout and Dallis Flowers. The fifth? It’s a battle between preseason star Chase Lucas and undrafted Jakob Robinson, who’s been consistently sticky in coverage in training camp. The 49ers have been using Lucas, heretofore a nickel cornerback, on the outside this week and Robinson, mainly an outside cornerback, on the inside. That’s where they’ll likely play in Saturday’s finale as well.“
After trading for Brian Robinson, 49ers set at running back entering 2025 season
“Where Robinson is significantly more accomplished than Mason is as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. Robinson had 56 catches for 527 yards and four touchdowns over the past two seasons. Mason had just 11 catches for 91 yards in 12 games last season.
Robinson is scheduled to make $3.4 million in the final year of his contract, which is a significant savings over what it would have cost to retain Mason.
The 49ers’ trade for Robinson is a move the 49ers made for this season, as Robinson will be an unrestricted free agent next spring.
Whereas the 49ers were wafer-thin at running back earlier this week, it looks as if they are in a much better spot at running back than even before the injuries hit them.“
Here are five 49ers to watch in Saturday’s preseason finale vs. Chargers
“But Moore did not return a punt the past two seasons after a rocky rookie year in that role. He lost three fumbles in 2022 and was removed from punt-return duty. However, when pressed into action, he came up big in the postseason with a 29-yard punt return to set up the winning points against Cincinnati in the AFC Championship Game.
The 49ers’ preseason finale will serve as an opportunity to identify where Skyy has his limits.“
Desperate? Pragmatic? What to make of 49ers’ mid-camp trades
“Robinson Jr. has also stayed a bit healthier than Mason, and has been a much more effective receiver, though there’s some grading on the curve there given Mason’s role with Christian McCaffrey around.
The point is, they effectively traded Robinson Jr. for Mason, while moving up 27 picks (to get Sigle), and clearing about $3.2 million in cap space.
As much as trading away one running back and then deciding you need a relatively similar running back in the offseason is objectively funny, it’s better than the 49ers just blindly committing to the sunk-cost fallacy. They cannot trust Isaac Guerendo as a player, let alone from a health perspective. Who knows what Jordan James is. And then there’s the visage of Jeff Wilson Jr.
Go get a capable running back for cheap, and maybe he’ll sign somewhere to get you a compensatory pick in the offseason. It’s a rare move that acquires a player that the people online who incessantly scream, “GO TRADE FOR [insert any offensive player they’ve ever heard of]” actually comes at a reasonable price and fits a reasonable need.“
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