49ers roster cuts: What can we expect in the cut down to 75 players?

The San Francisco 49ers are now two games through their preseason schedule, and they're getting that much closer to roster cuts. The big cut is the final cut to the 53-man roster, but the team will first cut down to 75 players ten days from now on August 27.

The 49ers currently have 90 players on their roster between the active roster, the Active/PUP list and the Active/NFI list. You can sort through the 49ers roster HERE. They have 83 players on the active roster, five on the NFI list and two on the PUP list. The team will cut down to 75 prior to their final preseason game, and then cut down 53 after that game.

A week ago, prior to the 49ers preseason opener, user Jerryriceisthebest put together his projections for the first round of roster cuts. There was some great discussion in there, but now that we've seen the 49ers play two games, I thought I would open things up for some more discussion. I'll keep this pinned near the top of the page for a couple days so everybody can get their thoughts in.

One useful piece of information is who is eligible for the practice squad. If a player has little chance of making the roster, but is still a solid practice squad candidate, he will make it through this first round of cuts. I took a look at practice squad eligible players earlier in the week. If you saw the article when it first published it, I have since updated it. It turns out, A.J. Jenkins, LaMichael James, Joe Looney and Trenton Robinson are all practice squad eligible because they were not among the 46 active players for nine or more games last season.

As we look through the roster, there are some players who jump right out, but even just cutting down to 15 is no simple task. In going through the list, these are the first twelve I felt at least a little bit comfortable including. And even these guys include some that could end up lasting to final cuts.

NT Lamar Divens
WR Lavelle Hawkins
ILB Travis Johnson
S Darcel McBath
LS Kevin McDermott
OG Al Netter
OT Patrick Omameh
NT Mike Purcell
FB Jason Schepler
P/K Colton Schmidt
ILB Nate Stupar
OG Wayne Tribue

Darcel McBath is probably my biggest cut given his involvement in 49ers special teams last season. But, the team brought on a lot of talent to compete on special teams, and I could see McBath getting the axe in this first round of cuts.

Colton Schmidt is another one who could through the final game to keep Phil Dawson and Andy Lee covered. That being said, they might want to provide one last opportunity to somebody else given that Schmidt seems highly unlikely to make the roster.

In looking through the remaining options, I find myself arguing against a cut. For example, Chuck Jacobs has been active late in the first two preseason games. But if he's not legitimately in the mix at wide receiver, it would make sense to release him. The 49ers will need all four preseason games to figure out their receiving situation.

Lawrence Okoye still seems like a long shot to make the roster, but I could see him getting to final cuts and then on to the practice squad.

I could see one of D.J. Harper or Jewel Hampton potentially getting the axe with these first cuts. Maybe Tony Jerod-Eddie if the team is happy elsewhere on the line? Would Raymond Ventrone get the axe if he's not sufficiently healthy by then? In the previous FanPost, Modesto Matt made a good point about the number of injured players on PUP and NFI. That will make things a little more difficult since the team will be hanging on to that group of players. It impedes potential roster competitions heading into that final preseason game.

Who are your 15 cuts from the 49ers current roster?