49ers 53-Man Roster Projection: Cutdown Day is Approaching

The 49ers must trim their roster down from 90 players to 53 by Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Grant Cohn | Aug 22, 2024

Aug 18, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Tanner Mordecai (4) looks to throw a pass against the New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers must trim their roster down from 90 players to 53 by Tuesday, Aug. 27. Here are the players I believe will make the team.

Quarterbacks (3)

Brock Purdy, Joshua Dobbs and Brandon Allen

Allen shouldn't make the team -- undrafted rookie free agent Tanner Mordecai is better than him. But the 49ers will go with the veteran and try to sneak Mordecai on the practice squad.

Running backs/Fullback (5)

Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, Elijah Mitchell, Isaac Guerendo and Kyle Juszczyk.

Undrafted rookie free agent Cody Schrader has had a good training camp but an unproductive preseason, so he'll go to the practice squad and fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo will make the team even though he has missed all but three training camp practices with a hamstring injury.

Wide receivers (6)

Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Jacob Cowing, Chris Conley, Ricky Pearsall.

Danny Gray and Ronnie Bell both will get released. Bell will sign back with the 49ers practice squad along with veteran Trent Taylor. Gray will not sign with another team.

Tight ends (4)

George Kittle, Eric Saubert, Brayden Willis, Cam Latu

Cam Latu will make the team by default because the 49ers want a fourth tight end, but he's not one of their best 53 best players.

Offensive line (9)

Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz, Jaylon Moore, Nick Zakelj, Spencer Burford, Jarrett Kingston.

Jon Feliciano most likely will start the season on Injured Reserve and return sometime in October or November.

Defensive line (8)

Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Maliek Collins, Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, Robert Beal Jr.

This is arguably the thinnest group on the team. Beal will make the team because the 49ers need a backup defensive end but he hasn't earned his spot on the roster.

Linebackers (6)

Fred Warner, De'Vondre Campbell, Curtis Robinson, Dee Winters, Jalen Graham, Tatum Bethune.

I'm guessing the 49ers will trade one of their linebackers before cutdown day, and I'm guessing that linebacker will be Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, simply because he's the oldest of the potential backups.

Cornerbacks (5)

Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Isaac Yiadom, Darrell Luter Jr.

This is arguably the deepest position group on the team. I'm guessing the 49ers will keep Luter over Samuel Womack and Rock Ya-Sin.

Safeties (4)

Ji'Ayir Brown, Talanoa Hufanga, George Odum, Malik Mustapha.

I'm assuming Hufanga will not start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform List. He's scheduled to begin practicing next week.

Specialists (3)

Jake Moody, Mitch Wishnowsky, Taybor Pepper.

I'm guessing the 49ers will keep Wishnowsky and not replace him with Pressley Harvin, who has been punting for them in the preseason.

Published Aug 22, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.