Earlier this morning, I put together a 90-in-90 post about safety D.J. Campbell. Although the San Francisco 49ers safety position is not especially deep, Campbell is likely a practice squad candidate. The 49ers are incredibly deep right now, and they will look to slide some of this talent through waivers and on to the practice squad.
Over the last five years, the 49ers have been able to work several players through the practice squad and eventually on to the 53-man roster. Alex Boone, Tramaine Brock, Michael Wilhoite, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Darryl Morris, and Will Tukuafu all made some kind of contribution in 2013. Boone, Brock and Wilhoite all could open the 2014 season in the starting lineup, while Tony Jerod-Eddie and Darryl Morris could earn rotational roles on the defensive line and in the secondary, respectively. Tukuafu will compete for fullback time.
I've put together a quick listing of every 49ers practice squad player over the last five years. Many have made multiple appearances on the practice squad and then disappeared, but the 49ers have been able to turn practice squad players into important contributors.
2013
OT Carter Bykowski
RB Jewel Hampton
WR Chuck Jacobs
CB Darryl Morris
G Patrick Omameh
NT Mike Purcell
S Michael Thomas
TE Derek Carrier
LB D'Aundre Reed
OL Al Netter
CB Dax Swanson
QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson
WR Devon Wylie
2012
DT Tony Jerod-Eddie
LB Cam Johnson
DT Matthew Masifilo
OL Al Netter
WR Nathan Palmer
S Michael Thomas
OT Kenny Wiggins
LB Michael Wilhoite
WR Ricardo Lockette
S Eddie Whitley
WR Chad Hall
LB Alex Hoffman-Ellis
LB Nate Stupar
2011
C Chase Beeler
OT Derek Hall
WR Joe Hastings
CB Cory Nelms
RB Xavier Omon
TE Konrad Reuland
LB Monte Simmons
RB Ian Johnson
S Colin Jones
WR John Matthews
WR Kerry Taylor
S Mark LeGree
LB Michael Wilhoite
LB Bruce Davis
LB Rick Elmore
2010
QB Jarrett Brown
FB Jehuu Caulcrick
LB Bruce Davis
WR Kevin Jurovich
OT Matt Kopa
LB Keaton Kristick
S Chris Maragos
DT Will Tukuafu
CB Tramaine Brock
LB Eric Bakhtiari
TE Colin Cloherty
WR Lance Long
RB DeShawn Wynn
OT Xavier Fulton
OG Nick Howell
OL Dennis Landolt
K Fabrizio Scaccia
2009
OT Alex Boone
WR Dobson Collins
TE Joe Jon Finley
FB Brit Miller
DT Khalif Mitchell
RB Kory Sheets
WR Dominique Zeigler
LB Diyral Briggs
OG Drew Radovich
LB Martail Burnett
OT Kirk Barton
WR Rodney Wright
We'll go through a lot of the practice squad details between now and the final roster cuts, but I figured I'd see if anybody had thoughts on who the next big contributors might be. Darryl Morris would seem to be following the Tramaine Brock path. He was quicker off the practice squad than recent players, and he could work his way into the dime or nickel discussion this fall.
This year the 49ers will have quite a few solid practice squad candidates. They won't all be able to sign with the 49ers practice squad, and some will most certainly be claimed. The third year players are guys that could be signed to the practice squad, but only if the 53-man roster remains full. If the 49ers release someone on the 53-man roster, they have to either sign one of those two to the roster, or simply release them from the practice squad.
Rookies
CB Kenneth Acker
LB Chris Borland
TE Asante Cleveland
WR Bruce Ellington
OL Dillon Farrell
QB Kory Faulkner
OG Fouimalo Fonoti
TE Kevin Greene
RB Carlos Hyde
CB Dontae Johnson
LB Aaron Lynch
C Marcus Martin
S James McCray
FB Trey Millard
DT Kaleb Ramsey
CB Keith Reaser
LB Shayne Skov
OG Brandon Thomas
LB Chase Thomas
DB Jimmie Ward
1st year players
OT Carter Bykowski
WR Chuck Jacobs
OL Al Netter
DT Mike Purcell
P Colton Schmidt
2nd year players
S D.J. Campbell
TE Derek Carrier
DT Quinton Dial
RB Jewel Hampton
LB Nick Moody
DT Lawrence Okoye
OG Ryan Seymour
3rd year players
QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson
WR Devon Wylie