Mike Purcell, DeAndrew White go from longshots to 49ers 53-man roster

The San Francisco 49ers submitted their roster cuts to the NFL, and while the team has not formally announced the moves, players already know. Players are tweeting the news, and two potential roster longshots have earned a spot on the 53-man roster. Wide receiver DeAndrew White and defensive tackle Mike Purcell both posted tweets indicating they have made the 49ers roster.

The team can always make changes as waivers happens tomorrow, but odds are good both will stick around. Purcell entered training camp pretty far down the depth chart. Purcell signed with the 49ers in 2013 as a UDFA. He spent the season on the practice squad, and then opened 2014 on the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster in December, and as active the final two games due to injuries on the line.

Purcell had a monster preseason, and earned his way onto the roster. He was consistently getting into the backfield, and had a highlight play with his pick-six interception return. He is primarily a nose tackle, but got work at the 3-4 end position as well. It remains to be seen how far up the depth chart he climbed, but with Darnell Dockett's release, there are some opportunities.

White joined the 49ers as a potential practice squad candidate, but built up a lot of buzz in minicamp and the early part of training camp. The Alabama receiver got high praise from Nick Saban and Amari Cooper, but remained under the radar. He got kick return work, and shined most there in the first three preseason games. In the fourth game, we saw some of the receiving prowess that had people talking.

The question for White is whether or not he'll be inactive on game days. Jarryd Hayne also impressed as a return man, and Bruce Ellington handled that work in 2014. White will likely not see a ton of receiving work just because Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith are on the roster. The team will have more than just 2-WR sets, but I don't know that we see enough for White to get much time there. His best opportunity to contribute as a rookie is potentially as a return man.