49ers Announce Initial 53-Man Roster: Breakdown of Every Position and Key Cut
John Lynch maneuvers through tactical waivers and injury designations to finalize the squad, balancing veteran releases against protected youth for the long journey to Australia.
Video Transcript
The San Francisco 49ers officially finalized their first version of the fifty-three man roster.
This should tr-truly just be a twenty-four-hour placeholder.
Between managing short-term injured reserve destinations and performing procedural releases on vested veterans and navigating the waiver wire, General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan still have a significant amount of maneuvering ahead before the squad boards its flight for Australia.
Here is an in-depth position by position breakdown of the initial fifty-three man squad, the key cuts, and the roster mechanics expected over the next few days.
I'll kind of skip through the obvious things.
You can read it all in the article, but a couple things that were standout worthy.
Adrian Martinez was waived despite performing very well in the preseason.
Sincere McCormick was also waived, and Kahlil Herbert was released.
Kaderril Hodge and Trenthin-Erin Irwin were amongst wide receivers who were released, and George Kittle, Luke Farrell, Jake Tonges, and Brayden Willis were the tight ends.
Brett Toth and Nick Zijl were placed on the injured reserve while Robert Jones was released.
Both Nick Martin and Luke Gifford made the initial fifty-three man despite battling injuries.
Darrell Luter Jr. Was waived along with veteran Eli Apple, who was released.
Malik Mustafa remains in the defensive rotation behind Brown and Seijel after missing time during training camp, which is not surprising.
He was the third secondary option for the safeties last year as well.
This is classic procedural remo-- maneuvers by the NFL front offices.
Because Waitman and Weeks are vested veterans, they do not go through the NFL waiver wire and immediately become free agents.
The 49ers use their initial fifty-three man spot to protect their younger players like Martin Gifford or Hobbs before placing those injured players on short-term injured reserve.
Once those IR moves are processed on Monday, vacant roster spots will open up, allowing San Francisco to re-sign Waitman and Weeks directly to the active roster ahead of week one.
Additionally, experienced veterans like offensive lineman Robert Jones or wide receiver Kaderril Hodge remain top candidates to rejoin the team or practice squad once the roster mechanics settle.
