The 49ers made some moves yesterday:
The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have waived the following seven players: QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, S D.J. Campbell, TE Kevin Greene, RB Jewel Hampton, P Colton Schmidt, LB Kion Wilson and WR Devon Wylie. The team also released WR David Reed.
Additionally, the 49ers placed RB Marcus Lattimore, FB Trey Millard, CB Keith Reaser and G Brandon Thomas on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List. LB NaVorro Bowman, TE Garrett Celek and DT Kaleb Ramsey were placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List.
Here’s my 53-man roster projection. Feel free to rip said projection in the comments!
Quarterback (3): Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, Josh Johnson
Running Back (4): Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde, LaMichael James, Alfonso Smith
Fullback (1): Bruce Miller
Wide Receiver (6): Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Stevie Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington, Kassim Osgood
Tight End (3): Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier
Offensive Line (8): Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Daniel Kilgore, Joe Looney, Anthony Davis, Jonathan Martin, Adam Snyder, Carter Bykowski
Defensive Line (6): Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Ian Williams, Tank Carradine, Quinton Dial, Tony Jerod-Eddie
Outside Linebacker (4): Ahmad Brooks, Dan Skuta, Corey Lemonier, Aaron Lynch
Inside Linebacker (4): Patrick Willis, Michael Wilhoite, Chris Borland, Nick Moody
Safety (5): Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, Craig Dahl, Bubba Ventrone
Cornerback (6): Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Perrish Cox, Dontae Johnson, Darryl Morris, Kenneth Acker
Kicker (1): Phil Dawson
Punter (1): Andy Lee
Long Snapper (1): Kevin McDermott
Reserve/Did Not Report: Alex Boone
Suspended: Aldon Smith
PUP: NaVorro Bowman, Garrett Celek, Kaleb Ramsey
NFI: Trey Millard, Brandon Thomas, Keith Reaser, Marcus Lattimore
IR or short-term IR: Kendall Hunter, Glenn Dorsey, Marcus Martin
Practice Squad: S James McCray, DL Lawrence Okoye, OG Ryan Seymour, OG Al Netter, TE Asante Cleveland, NT Mike Purcell, WR Lance Lewis, QB Kory Faulkner, LB Shayne Skov, RB Glenn Winston
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Toughest Calls
1. Two or three quarterbacks? They went into last season with three quarterbacks, and despite the touchdown drive the 49ers can’t be all that confident in Gabbert.
2. Smith over Winston? Jim Harbaugh took great pains to explain the advantages Winston had against the Chargers.
“He did. He ran physical, pushed the pile. There was a part of the game where you could see that they had lost some defensive linemen to injury and then later in the game when they were not playing their starters anymore, they were thin on the defensive line. So it was an advantage for us. I think Glenn took advantage of it and it was impressive.”
3. Carter Bykowski over Al Netter (or Ryan Seymour, for that matter)? Bykowski was a guy they drafted (2013 seventh round) who can play tackle and guard, and has received more preseason snaps than Netter. I admit, this was a true coin flip.
4. Tony Jerod-Eddie over Demarcus Dobbs? It wouldn’t surprise me if either player got traded for a late-round draft pick before the season. With Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial ready to contribute, there’s no reason to keep both — this one’s another coin flip, but Jerod-Eddie played a bit more last year and through these three preseason games.
5. Craig Dahl over C.J. Spillman? Just a hunch, but Spillman doesn’t look like the same player this season. He’s getting trucked by running backs, he’s never been great in coverage, and Dahl got into the game before Spillman on Sunday. Also weird: Spillman hasn’t played a snap on special teams this preseason, according to PFF.
6. Bubba Ventrone over Chris Cook? The last decision I made, and I’m not confident about this one AT ALL. Cook has looked good, but without Spillman the 49ers only have Kassim Osgood (another so-called bubble guy) as a true coverage specialist on special teams unless Ventrone makes the squad. Acker played plenty of special teams snaps on Sunday after none before, which tells me they’re trying to find a spot for both rookie corners.
