The San Francisco 49ers are halfway through their preseason schedule and things are definitely getting interesting. They’ve signed some players, released some players, and not everything has been expected. In the secondary, things are definitely interesting, with competition all over the place.
Today, were going to focus on the safety position. The last time Fooch ran a bubble watch post for the safeties, he listed Jimmie Ward and Eric Reid as locks, Jaquiski Tartt and Don Jones as strong bubble players, Lorenzo Jerome, Chanceller James and Vinnie Sunseri as weak bubble players and no longshots.
With Reid moving from free safety to strong safety and Ward moving from nickel corner to free safety, things are interesting. At strong safety, Reid is competing with Tartt for the starting role, but when it comes to the roster itself, it’s hard to imagine either player no making it. If Tartt can’t take the starting job from Reid, he’d still be the most valuable backup and would definitely be active on gamedays.
But while Ward spent time on the physically unable to perform list, another player has been making plays: Jerome. He’s shown great ball skills and he’s as physical as Reid was at the position before him. Jerome may have locked up a roster spot with his play and now he’s gunning for a starting spot.
That makes me think the only real movement from Fooch’s bubble watch is moving Jerome up, especially when you factor in durability of Ward and Reid. I’m hesitant to write off Jones because he’s good on special teams and with Sunseri, there’s the fact that he’s so versatile, which is also a consideration when you look at the durability of the guys above him.
So this is what I’m going with:
Lock: Jimmie Ward, Eric Reid
Strong Bubble: Jaquiski Tartt, Lorenzo Jerome
Weak Bubble: Don Jones, Vinnie Sunseri
Longshot: Adrian Colbert
What do you guys think?