The San Francisco 49ers had a bevy of cuts on Sunday as they trimmed down to their 53-man roster. As always, roster politics is a factor, hence why the team cut both their starting long snapper and punter, but there were some interesting decisions made overall.
San Francisco went with just four running backs, including Kyle Juszczyk, with Isaac Guerendo going on PUP. While expected, that puts a lot of faith on rookie Kaelon Black and second-year pro Jordan James to carry the load behind Christian McCaffrey.
The 49ers kept their youngsters at receivers, as Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins both made the roster. Christian Kirk went on IR, while the team elected to cut players like undrafted free agent Will Pauling.
San Francisco kept their standard four tight ends, while having nine offensive linemen make the team, not including Austen Pleasants (IR, to return). That included Jarrett Patterson, whom the 49ers traded for with the Houston Texans just before the deadline.
On defense, the 49ers kept nine defensive linemen, including undrafted free agent rookie James Thompson Jr., and seven linebackers, as Nick Martin, Garrett Wallow, Luke Gifford, and Jaden Dugger all made the team.
In the secondary, the 49ers had some camp battles, but kept six cornerbacks, with rookie Ephysians Prysock making the team over former fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. Luter was a candidate for the practice squad, but it appears he won’t make it there.
According to Adam Schefter, Luter is expected to be among the players claimed by the Las Vegas Raiders, who have the top claim spot on the waiver wire. The Raiders kept five cornerbacks on their 53-man roster: Taron Johnson, Hezekiah Masses, Jermod McCoy, Darien Porter, Decamerion Richardson, and Eric Stokes.
Luter will join a group without much experience, so he could earn some early playing time in the cornerback room there.
The 49ers also cut Eli Apple and Jakob Robinson from the room, and both could be candidates to return on the practice squad.
We’ll see what other roster moves the 49ers make with a number of players currently injured, but they may have to look elsewhere for additional corner depth now.
About the Author: Insidethe49
