Final 53-man roster projection before final 49ers roster cuts

The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their 2014 preseason schedule Thursday evening, defeating the Houston Texans 40-13. It was a game that saw only a handful of starters make an appearance, which means this was more about final evaluations of the back end of the roster. Most of the 53 man roster was set heading into the game, but there were still some roster spots up for grabs.

I put together a 53-man roster projection on Wednesday, and am now back for my final such projection of the preseason. I do like the sound of that!

I had to make one particular change due to a previous mistake. I had listed Glenn Dorsey on short term IR, but the 49ers cannot place him on that list until Tuesday. In the meantime, if they choose not to place him on regular IR, they have to carry him until then. It is a tough call for them to make, but if they think he can return, it makes sense to hold off. I also have them hanging onto Marcus Martin at this point. Either they will carry him through his dislocated kneecap, or they place him on regular IR. I'm guess the former for now, but we'll see what happens between now and Sunday.

To make room for Dorsey, I removed Alfonso Smith for the time being. I think there is a decent chance he gets back on the roster once Dorsey is placed on IR, but he is one of the last 1 or 2 guys on my projection.

I still am stuck on the quarterback position. If Blaine Gabbert's shoulder is a problem, Josh Johnson seemingly makes the team. But if the shoulder isn't an issue, I still think Gabbert gets the backup job. It will infuriate many, but I really do see it playing out that way. Flame away.

I still don't have Brandon Lloyd (or Kassim Osgood) on my roster. As I've said before, it would not surprise me to see the 49ers release both, and then sign one back after Week 1, when their salary would no longer be guaranteed.

For those waiting for it, I removed Bubba Ventrone, and added in Kenneth Acker. The primary reason I removed Ventrone was because of his hamstring injury. He dealt with one last year, but he suffered it much earlier in camp. This year, it came more recently, and that might result in an injury settlement for Ventrone. We'll see.

Tight end Derek Carrier suffered a hamstring injury Thursday evening, so I'm not entirely sure what to make of his status at this point. This could bode well for Asante Cleveland, but we'll have to wait and see.

QB (2): Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
RB (3): Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde, LaMichael James
FB (1): Bruce Miller
WR (5): Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Stevie Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington
TE (3): Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier
OT (4): Joe Staley, Anthony Davis, Jonathan Martin, Ryan Seymour
OG (3): Mike Iupati, Joe Looney, Adam Snyder
C (2): Daniel Kilgore, Marcus Martin

DT (6): Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Demarcus Dobbs, Tank Carradine, Quinton Dial
NT (2): Ian Williams, Glenn Dorsey
OLB (4): Ahmad Brooks, Corey Lemonier, Dan Skuta, Aaron Lynch
ILB (4): Patrick Willis, Michael Wilhoite, Chris Borland, Nick Moody
CB (6): Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Chris Cook, Daryl Morris, Dontae Johnson, Kenneth Acker
S (5): Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, C.J. Spillman, Craig Dahl

K (1): Phil Dawson
P (1): Andy Lee
LOS (1): Kevin McDermott

Practice Squad: Practice Squad (10): S James McCray, DL Lawrence Okoye, QB Kory Faulkner, OT Carter Bykowski, TE Asante Cleveland, RB Glenn Winston, NT Mike Purcell, WR L'Damian Washington, LB Shayne Skov, OL Dillon Farrell

Reserve/PUP: LB NaVorro Bowman, TE Garrett Celek, DT Kaleb Ramsey

Reserve/NFI: RB Marcus Lattimore, FB Trey Millard, CB Keith Reaser, OL Brandon Thomas

Reserve/Suspended: OLB Aldon Smith

Reserve/Did Not Report: OL Alex Boone