The San Francisco 49ers veterans report to training camp Wednesday morning, and hit the practice field on Thursday. From that point forward, we can start to assess the roster, and figure out who stands where in the battle for roster spots. There are plenty of locks, but there will be just as many players on the bubble looking to state their case. Some are strong bubble, some are weak bubble, but they remain on the bubble.
A little over a week ago, I put together a complete look at my bubble watch for the 2014 49ers. It was a compilation of the various articles I put together looking at each position unit. It did not reflect any changes of opinion I had, but rather, was meant to simply give you a complete look at what I had put together.
Now that camp is about to get underway, I thought I'd go back and make some changes. First, let's pull out all the guys on the PUP and NFI lists. Some of them will be ready for the start of the season, and some will likely be activated before the end of this week. But in the meantime, it does allow us to clear a few names out. Below is a quick rundown of the players on the injured lists. After each name, I've put in parenthesis what they would be if they were not injured.
Physically Unable To Perform (4)
DT: Ian Williams (lock), Kaleb Ramsey (longshot)
LB: NaVorro Bowman (lock - not on PUP, but will be), Aaron Lynch (strong bubble)
Non-Football Injury (6)
RB: Marcus Lattimore (lock)
FB: Trey Millard (weak bubble)
WR: Bruce Ellington (lock)
OG: Brandon Thomas (lock)
C: Marcus Martin (lock)
CB: Keith Reaser (weak bubble)
Among the injured players, I list Ian Williams as a lock, after listing him previously as strong bubble. If Williams is back and practicing quickly at the start of training camp, I honestly see no reason he is not on the roster Week 1. In my mind, Williams is the starting nose tackle, and Glenn Dorsey joins a potentially ridiculous defensive line reserve rotation with Tank Carradine, and potentially either some mix of Tony Jerod-Eddie, Demarcus Dobbs, and/or Quinton Dial. I don't know how many of that group make the roster, but the depth could be absurd.
As I look at the rest of my bubble watch below, I just don't see changes of note. I still have Stevie Johnson on the strong bubble. I think he'll show enough to earn his spot, but given his salary, I'm going to give it a little bit of wait and see. The cornerback has question marks, but a lot of bodies. I listed Cook, Morris, Cox, and Johnson on strong bubble, but I would be a little bit surprised if all four made the team. I see three of the four more than likely.
Similarly, along the offensive line, I have Martin, Looney and Snyder listed as strong bubble. My guess is the 49ers are hoping Martin and Looney can step up and give them a reason to move on from Snyder. Although, if Boone's hold out continues, that could buy Snyder more time. And at tight end, I would be surprised if both Garrett Celek and Derek Carrier made the roster. However, I don't really have a strong grasp on which one will claim the third tight end role.
Locks (34)
QB: Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
RB: Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Carlos Hyde
FB: Bruce Miller
WR: Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Quinton Patton
TE: Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald
OT: Joe Staley, Anthony Davis
OG: Mike Iupati, Alex Boone
C: Daniel Kilgore
DT: Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Glenn Dorsey, Tank Carradine
OLB: Ahmad Brooks, Aldon Smith, Corey Lemonier
ILB: Patrick Willis, Michael Wilhoite, Chris Borland
CB: Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Jimmie Ward
S: Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea
K: Phil Dawson
P: Andy Lee
LOS: Kevin McDermott
Strong Bubble (18)
RB: LaMichael James
WR: Stevie Johnson
TE: Garrett Celek, Derek Carrier
OT: Jonathan Martin
OG: Joe Looney, Adam Snyder
DT: Tony Jerod-Eddie, Demarcus Dobbs, Quinton Dial
OLB: Dan Skuta
ILB: Nick Moody
CB: Chris Cook, Darryl Morris, Perrish Cox, Dontae Johnson
S: C.J. Spillman, Craig Dahl
Weak Bubble (11)
QB: Josh Johnson, McLeod Bethel-Thompson
FB: Will Tukuafu
WR: Brandon Lloyd, Kassim Osgood
OT: Carter Bykowski
OG: Ryan Seymour
ILB: Blake Costanzo, Shayne Skov
CB: Kenneth Acker
S: Bubba Ventrone
Longshots (17)
QB: Kory Faulkner
RB: Jewel Hampton
WR: Jon Baldwin, Chuck Jacobs, Devon Wylie, David Reed
TE: Asante Cleveland, Kevin Greene
OT: Fou Fonoti
OG: Al Netter
C: Dillon Farrell
DT: Lawrence Okoye, Mike Purcell
OLB: Chase Thomas
S: D.J. Campbell, LJ McCray
P: Colton Schmidt