The San Francisco 49ers made three roster moves on Monday, signing three rookies, and releasing three players to remain at the 90-man limit. Two of the three moves were at least a little bit surprising, getting rid of K.D. Cannon after only three days with the team, and DuJuan Harris after re-signing him in late March. They were not stunning decisions as there was not a lot of guaranteed money involved, but it was still rather sudden.
Prior to the first round of roster cuts last week, I put together a post looking at players that were locks, safe, or in danger. I missed on several of them including DuJuan Harris, Jayson DiManche, Je’Ron Hamm, and JaCorey Shepherd. Hamm and Shepherd I probably should have seen as more likely. Harris and DiManche weren’t the guys that were going to make or break the 49ers in 2017, but given their recent signings, I figured they would at least make it to training camp. Not so much.
As we look ahead with the current 90-man roster, how many players would you list as locks? With a new coaching staff and front office, the number of locks to make the roster is likely considerably lower than in years past when things were pretty well established.
I liked the way Brother Girth approached it in the comments of that article, by looking at guaranteed money. It focuses on the offseason additions, but it’s a step in the right direction. He posted this:
Locks (7): Garcon (17M), Smith (11.5M), Hoyer (9.85M), Juszczyk (7M), Mitchell (4.65M), Goodwin (4.45M), Kerley (2.8M)
Virtual Locks (7): Gilliam (1.4M), Watson (1M), Gould (1M), Don Jones (750k), Barkley (500k), Robinson (500k), Coyle (400k)
Expected to make it (2): Hightower (300k), Paulsen (125k)
Gotta earn it (2): K’Waun Williams (75k), Chris Jones (50k)
Camp Bodies (5): Harris (0), DiManche (0), Carter (0), Purcell (0), Bradford (0),
TBD (2): Fusco, Barnes – most likely camp bodies
We don’t know Fusco and Barnes details yet, but I think they re higher than camp bodies but lower than locks. I could see them in either the “Gotta earn it” or “Expected to make it” categories.
Here’s a look at the 90-man roster following Monday’s roster moves. Which players would you say are locks at this point?
QB: Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley, C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens
RB: Carlos Hyde, Joe Williams, Kapri Bibbs, Tim Hightower, Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, Tyler McCloskey
FB: Kyle Juszczyk, Tyler McCloskey
WR: Pierre Garçon, Marquise Goodwin, Jeremy Kerley, Aldrick Robinson, Rashad Ross, DeAndre Smelter, Trent Taylor, Bruce Ellington, Aaron Burbridge, DeAndre Carter, Victor Bolden, Kendrick Bourne, B.J. Johnson III
TE: Vance McDonald, George Kittle, Logan Paulsen, Garrett Celek, Blake Bell, Cole Hikutini
OT: Joe Staley, Trenton Brown, Norman Price, John Theus
OG: Zane Beadles, Joshua Garnett, Garry Gilliam, Brandon Fusco
C: Jeremy Zuttah, Daniel Kilgore, Tim Barnes
OL: JP Flynn, Evan Goodman, Erik Magnuson, Darrell Williams, Jr., Richard Levy
DL: Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas, Aaron Lynch, Ronald Blair, Tank Carradine, Chris Jones, D.J. Jones, Pita Taumoepenu, Quinton Dial, Earl Mitchell, Noble Nwachukwu
LB: Ray-Ray Armstrong, Navorro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks, Brock Coyle, Reuben Foster, Eli Harold, Malcolm Smith, Dekoda Watson, Jimmie Gilbert, Donavin Newsom
CB: Rashard Robinson, Ahkello Witherspoon, Keith Reaser, Will Redmond, K’Waun Williams, Dontae Johnson, Prince Charles Iworah
FS: Jimmie Ward, Don Jones, Adrian Colbert, Lorenzo Jerome, Zach Franklin
SS: Eric Reid, Jaquiski Tartt, Vinnie Sunseri, Malik Golden, Chanceller James
K: Robbie Gould, Nick Rose
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Kyle Nelson