{"id":447569,"date":"2026-08-29T22:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T22:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/447569\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T22:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T22:30:17","slug":"49ers-53-man-roster-projection-4-0-ahead-of-2026-nfl-season-nbc-sports-bay-area-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/447569\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers\u2019 53-man roster projection 4.0 ahead of 2026 NFL season \u2013 NBC Sports Bay Area & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the 49ers\u2019 final preseason game<\/a> on Thursday night in Las Vegas, the real work began for coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.<\/p>\n

The 49ers have an abundance of injury questions entering Week 1, but only wide receiver Ricky Pearsall<\/a> was lost for the 2026 NFL season this summer.<\/p>\n

All NFL teams must reduce their rosters from 90 players to the 53-man limit<\/a> by Sunday at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

And the medical reports will determine how the 49ers piece it together ahead of their trip to Melbourne, Australia, to face the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s why you want as long as possible,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cThey’re moving it up this year on Sunday with us leaving for Australia so soon. So it just makes it a little bit harder to guess where those guys are going to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of our guys, besides Ricky, are going to be all right. How good are they going to be Week 1? How good are they going to be Week 2? Those are things we’ve got to balance out.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that is why projecting the 49ers\u2019 initial 53-man roster becomes so difficult.<\/p>\n

Teams are allowed to designate two players to return off injured reserve on Sunday. All other players who are ticketed for injured reserve must first be included on the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n

Here is our final 49ers roster projection:<\/p>\n

Quarterback (3)<\/p>\n

Brock Purdy<\/p>\n

Mac Jones<\/p>\n

Kurtis Rourke<\/p>\n

Also: Adrian Martinez<\/p>\n

Although Rourke sustained broken ribs in his only game of the preseason, he has shown enough to make the 49ers believe he could be the backup quarterback next season. If the 49ers keep two QBs on their opening roster, they run the risk of losing him.<\/p>\n

Running back (4)<\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey<\/p>\n

Kyle Juszczyk<\/p>\n

Kaelon Black<\/p>\n

Jordan James<\/p>\n

PUP – Isaac Guerendo<\/p>\n

Also, Khalil Herbert, Sincere McCormick<\/p>\n

This is a position where the 49ers can go a little light from the outset. As a vested veteran, the 49ers can re-sign Herbert on Monday after spots on the roster open with additional players being placed on injured reserve. Herbert has value as a reserve after appearing in 63 games (13 starts) over the past five seasons.<\/p>\n

Wide receiver (6)<\/p>\n

Mike Evans<\/p>\n

De\u2019Zhaun Stribling<\/p>\n

Deebo Samuel<\/p>\n

Demarcus Robinson<\/p>\n

Jordan Watkins<\/p>\n

Jacob Cowing<\/p>\n

IR – Christian Kirk<\/p>\n

Also, Malik Turner, KhaDarel Hodge, Trenton Irwin, Will Pauling, Wesley Grimes<\/p>\n

The 49ers have good depth at this position, and it looks as if the top six are set with Cowing getting the nod because of his history of returning punts. The other players who have been fielding punts do not have much experience in college or the pros.<\/p>\n

Tight end (3)<\/p>\n

George Kittle<\/p>\n

Jake Tonges<\/p>\n

Luke Farrell<\/p>\n

Also, Brayden Willis, Hayden Rucci, Khalil Dinkins<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if Kittle will travel<\/a> with his teammates to Australia for the Week 1 game. If he remains back in the Bay Area for more physical therapy, strength and conditioning training, the 49ers could elevate a tight end from the practice squad, such as Willis or Rucci, to be available to play against the Rams.<\/p>\n

Offensive line (9)<\/p>\n

Trent Williams<\/p>\n

Dominick Puni<\/p>\n

Colton McKivitz<\/p>\n

Jake Brendel<\/p>\n

Carver Willis<\/p>\n

Connor Colby<\/p>\n

Robert Jones<\/p>\n

Austen Pleasants<\/p>\n

Enrique Cruz<\/p>\n

IR – Vederian Lowe, Brett Toth<\/p>\n

Also, Brandon Parker, Drake Nugent, Nick Zakelj, Doug Kramer, Isaac Alarcon<\/p>\n

Shanahan has yet to announce whom the team will start at left guard for Week 1, but it\u2019s looking as if Willis, a rookie, could get that call. Pleasants (knee) and Jones (calf) are expected back soon from injuries, so it appears they might avoid stints on IR. Cruz showed enough as the summer went on to believe that he could develop as a starter down the road.<\/p>\n

Defensive line (10)<\/p>\n

Nick Bosa<\/p>\n

Osa Odighizuwa<\/p>\n

Alfred Collins<\/p>\n

Romello Height<\/p>\n

Keion White<\/p>\n

Sam Okuayinonu<\/p>\n

CJ West<\/p>\n

Gracen Halton<\/p>\n

Bryson Eason<\/p>\n

James Thompson Jr.<\/p>\n

PUP \u2014 Mykel Williams<\/p>\n

Also, Ogba Okoronkwo, Sebastian Valdez, Evan Anderson, Quinton Bell, Viliami Fehoko Jr., Jah Joyner<\/p>\n

Okoronkwo, a seven-year veteran, had a good camp, and the 49ers certainly can keep him around on the practice squad as insurance. Valdez made a good run at a roster spot, so he still has a chance to contribute at some point in the season, too. It was a tough call between Eason and Thompson Jr., so they both get spots on the team.<\/p>\n

Linebacker (5)<\/p>\n

Fred Warner<\/p>\n

Dre Greenlaw<\/p>\n

Jaden Dugger<\/p>\n

Tatum Bethune<\/p>\n

Garret Wallow<\/p>\n

IR – Nick Martin, Luke Gifford<\/p>\n

Also, Deion Jones, Jalen Graham, Larry Worth III<\/p>\n

Martin earned a spot on the team, but his hamstring injury in the second preseason game likely means that he will be forced to open the season on the injured list. Gifford also is trying to get back from a hamstring injury he sustained early in training camp.<\/p>\n

Cornerback (6)<\/p>\n

Deommodore Lenoir<\/p>\n

Renardo Green<\/p>\n

Upton Stout<\/p>\n

Jack Jones<\/p>\n

Darrell Luter<\/p>\n

Ephesians Prysock<\/p>\n

IR – Nate Hobbs<\/p>\n

Also, Jakob Robinson, Eli Apple<\/p>\n

Green sustained a hamstring injury in the second preseason game, so it is possible Jones could open as the starter with Luter slated to be the top backup. Prysock sustained a shoulder injury that could limit him early in the season, but he is likely ticketed to a developmental role as a rookie, anyway.<\/p>\n

Safety (4)<\/p>\n

Ji\u2019Ayir Brown<\/p>\n

Marques Sigle<\/p>\n

Siran Neal<\/p>\n

Ashtyn Davis<\/p>\n

IR – Malik Mustapha<\/p>\n

Also, Jalen Stroman, Patrick McMorris<\/p>\n

The 49ers could create a roster spot at the cut to 53 players by releasing Neal or Davis, or both. Because they are vested veterans, they would not be subject to the waiver wire, so the 49ers simply could re-sign them the following day when they place other players on injured reserve. The wild card is Mustapha. There is no clear indication at this point whether his hamstring injury will force him to open the season on injured reserve.<\/p>\n

Special teams (3)<\/p>\n

K Eddy Pi\u00f1eiro<\/p>\n

P Corliss Waitman<\/p>\n

LS Jon Weeks<\/p>\n

The 49ers are in a much better position with their specialists than a year ago. Remember, they broke camp last year with Jake Moody as their kicker. Pi\u00f1eiro is coming off a final exhibition game in which he kicked six field goals, including makes from 48, 59, 51 and 54 yards. It appears the 49ers are vastly improved at punter, too, with Waitman taking Thomas Morstead\u2019s place.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following the 49ers\u2019 final preseason game on Thursday night in Las Vegas, the real work began for coach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[127072,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-447569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-49ers-roster","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}