The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up minicamp and are now five weeks away from the start of training camp. The 90-man roster is just about set, although a transaction here or there would not be entirely shocking. Shortly after the draft we put together a complete roster bubble watch, and now it’s time to re-visit it. The offseason workout program did not lock in most roster spots, but it might give us some hints here and there.
Over the next two weeks, we’re going to take a look at each position, and what the bubble watch looks like. As we’ve done for a while now, the bubble watch breaks down to lock, strong bubble, weak bubble, and longshot. For some positions, we’ll have multiple players listed at strong bubble, even though not all are likely to make the roster. But the idea is that they both stand a good shot, even if it is just one of them. Additionally, this does not reflect whether or not a player will be traded. Trades can and probably will happen during training camp, but the positioning on this focuses on whether or not they’d be cut.
We’ll get things going with the quarterbacks.
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Tackle
Guard
Offensive Line
Defensive Line
Linebacker
Cornerback
Lock: Jimmy Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard
Strong Bubble: None
Weak Bubble: None
Longshot: Nick Mullens, Jack Heneghan
In the post-draft bubble watch, I listed Nick Mullens as weak bubble and Jack Heneghan as a longshot. I’ve decided to make a change and bump Mullens down to longshot.
Anything is possible with any of these positions, but realistically, I see almost no chance the 49ers keep a third quarterback on the roster. Jimmy Garoppolo is very clearly the starter, and C.J. Beathard did enough to secure his role as the backup. Neither Mullens or Heneghan suggest anything more than project status. It is possible Mullens impressed on the practice squad last year, but he doesn’t exactly have the history that suggests he is going to secure more than another year on the practice squad in 2018.
Considering the 49ers only have 53 spots on the roster, there is nothing to be gained by keeping a third quarterback.