Rethinking 49ers 53-man roster predictions one week into training camp
By Peter Panacy
With just over a week’s worth of training camp practices, the San Francisco 49ers 53-man roster could end up looking different than earlier predictions. Niner Noise re-explores how the regular-season roster ends up looking in Week 1.
The San Francisco 49ers have a long way to go before head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff have to finalize roster cuts and come up with what will be the team’s 53-man roster just ahead of Week 1.
He’ll have until after Week 4 of the preseason to do this, of course, and there’s plenty that could happen between now and then.
With just over a week of 2019 training camp in the books, however, enough has changed to prompt some alterations to the pre-camp predictions Niner Noise made last month.
Some players, who impressed during organized team activities and minicamp, haven’t quite made the same splashes during training camp. Others have made notable impressions once the pads came on. And there are also those injuries and depth transactions to consider, too.
As training camp continues, along with there being a mere week before preseason games start, Niner Noise revisits our previous 53-man roster predictions and comes up with a new breakdown of the players who wind up making the cut heading into Week 1 of the regular season.
Starting off with special teams.
Note: Backup players listed in italics.
Special Teams (3)
Kicker: Robbie Gould
Punter: Mitch Wishnowsky
Long-Snapper: Colin Holba
The 49ers no longer have to worry about whether or not veteran kicker Robbie Gould would show up in time for Week 1. Having signed a deal up to four years in length, Gould will be around for the foreseeable future.
And that’s fine. During the offseason, he was easily the most dramatic storyline amid a position group which should have very little drama this time of year.
Rookie punter Mitch Wishnowsky has been showing off a booming leg with plenty of hang time during training camp. So, while the Niners may have reached by using a fourth-round NFL Draft pick on him, the idea of Wishnowsky being a field-changing weapon in 2019 and beyond is real.
Long-snapper Kyle Nelson still has six games left on his 10-game suspension for a PED violation, meaning Colin Holba will retain the same role with San Francisco he held late last season.