Projecting the 49ers’ 53-Man Roster
One of my favorite things to do is speculate. I can speculate how Shaun Hill will perform this season, I can speculate which tight end will catch the most passes. I can speculate how many times a punt will hit the Cowboys’ video board this coming season, but one of my favorite speculations is on the final roster of 53 and who will win their respective positional battles.
So here’s how I believe the final roster will look come opening day. The 49ers, along with the rest of the league, have to have their rosters trimmed down to 53 players by September 5th, just one day after their final preseason game. This of course means that this game is likely very important for guys like Curtis Taylor and Ricky Jean-Francois, while some others may just be locks… I’ll get right to it. Keep in mind they’re listed in order of depth as well.
Quaterbacks (3) Shaun Hill, Alex Smith, Nate Davis (With the release of QB Damon Huard, the 49ers have solidified their quarterback lineup for the season with Nate Davis securing the third string job.)
Running Backs (5) Frank Gore, Moran Norris, Glen Coffee, Michael Robinson, Kory Sheets (I thought about the 49ers keeping another fullback on the roster, but more than likely we’ll bring one in if we need him if Norris goes down. Kory Sheets has been impressive in the preseason and the team can’t afford to let him get to waivers.)
Wide Receivers (6) Isaac Bruce, Josh Morgan, Arnaz Battle, Brandon Jones, Jason Hill, Michael Crabtree (A hard choice for me because I like Dominique Zeigler and Micheal Spurlock. Zeigler has a shot, and Spurlock could make it if the team feels that he can contribute on KR/PR and in the Taser formation. I also included Crabtree on this, because I just can’t give up.)
Tight Ends (3) Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker, Bear Pascoe (It’s a toss-up right now between Bear Pascoe and Joe Jon Finley for blocking tight end, so naturally I went with the one with the cooler name.)
Offensive Line (9) Joe Staley, David Baas, Eric Heitman, Chilo Rachal, Adam Snyder, Tony Wragge, Barry Sims, Cody Wallace, Alex Boone (The team just lost veteran OT Marvel Smith so guys like Matt Spanos, Joe Toledo and Jacob Bender are hopeful, but Alex Boone [perhaps a tad prematurely] makes the roster.)
Defensive Line (6) Justin Smith, Aubrayo Franklin, Isaac Sopoaga, Kentwan Balmer, Ray McDonald, Ricky Jean-Francois (Surprise pick here is Jean-Francois over Demetric Evans. Evans may be better in the very short term but I don’t see either getting very much playing time. Whereas, I feel like Jean-Francois wont make it past waivers due to his high potential.)
Linebackers (8) Parys Haralson, Patrick Willis, Takeo Spikes, Manny Lawson, Jeff Ulbrich, Scott McKillop, Ahmad Brooks, Marques Harris (Not many surprises here, McKillop is the future in Spikes’ spot, Harris makes it due to ties with defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and Mike Singletary isn’t ready to give up on Ahmad Brooks.)
Defensive Backs (9) Nate Clements, Tarell Brown, Dashon Goldson, Michael Lewis, Dre’ Bly, Shawntae Spencer, Reggie Smith, Mark Roman, Marcus Hudson (A solid showing by Tarell Brown on Friday will earn him the starting role over Dre’ Bly, and a solid showing by CB Eric Green could edge him into a roster spot over Marcus Hudson, who is solid but nothing else.)
Special Teams (4) Joe Nedney, Andy Lee, Brian Jennings, Allen Rossum (All pretty much guaranteed, unless the team decided that Micheal Spurlock can do a better job returning kicks and punts, which at this point doesn’t seem too likely or unlikely.)
There’s my 53-man roster projection, I’ll look to get one up as soon as the game is over on Friday just before the team makes their final cuts and see how I do. As a bonus, how about a practice squad projection?
Practice Squad (8) WR Dominique Zeigler, TE Joe Jon Finley, FB Brit Miller, C Matt Spanos, G Jacob Bender, DL Khalif Mitchell, OLB Diyral Briggs, FS Curtis Taylor (I’d love to see Zeigler, Miller and Taylor all on the team but it just can’t happen. All three show promise for the future, and this writer hopes that Taylor progresses nicely and grabs himself Mark Roman’s job next season.)
Thanks for reading, I’m off to go re-watch some game tape.
| 2009 roster cuts, 49ers 53-man cuts, 49ers practice squad, 49ers roster, San Francisco 49ers
I agree with QB, RB, FB and TE but WR wise, forget Crabtree as I personally wouldnt sign him at all now and would let his career rot. Replace Crabtree with Zeigler.
OL wise, I dont think that they will keep more than 8 lineman, 5 starters with Wragge as the backup OG, Sims the backup OT and Wallace the backup C. I see Boone on the PS.
DL wise, since the team signed Evans, im expecting him to make the team as a backup DE. Francois will make the team as well.
LB wise, I agree 100% and will be shocked if any of the backups dont make the team.
DB wise, I see it as Clements, Bly, Brown, Spencer and Green while at safety, im predicting that Roman will be let go because they did try to trade him and in the end, Goldson is a better playmaker than he is by far. Safeties would be Lewis, Goldson, Smith and Taylor.
ST would be Nedney, Lee, Jennings and Rossum.
Zeigler, with his injury last night, likely will be on the practice squad and Micheal Spurlock will get the position over Crabtree–until we sign him. It’s also interesting to think we may not need Allen Rossum anymore what with Spurlock being able to do kicks and punts and Kory Sheets’ impressive return last night.
As far as the OL goes, my thoughts have changed slightly, even now I’m thinking up another projection before the final cuts are made. The 49ers will be looking for an OT on the waiver wire.
We don’t have room for both Francois and Evans, but I feel like Francois will get picked up if we let him get to waivers and I don’t want that.
DB wise… I really hope we let go of Roman, he’s my least favorite Niner from a player standpoint, but the 49ers appreciate his veteran presence and the fact that he’s good as a backup SS as well as FS.