5 biggest surprises from 49ers initial 2019 53-man roster
No. 1: Safeties Marcell Harris and Adrian Colbert cut
It’s not terribly surprising the 49ers decided to part ways with Adrian Colbert, the former starter at free safety who fell quickly out of the good graces of the coaching staff with poor play last year after a breakout rookie season.
After not showing much during the preseason, partially due to be ejected for targeting in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys after just seven snaps, Colbert eventually suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter against the Chargers in preseason Week 4.
San Francisco 49ers
At that point, it was pretty clear the writing was on the wall for the former seventh-round draft pick out of Miami. He was either going to be stashed on IR while he healed and could get another chance with the 49ers next season, or the reclamation project was over.
In this case, the 49ers chose the latter, deciding instead to go with just three official safeties on the roster: Tarvarius Moore and Jimmie Ward and strong safety Jaquiski Tartt.
Which leads us to the other surprise here: the release of 2018 sixth-round draft pick Marcell Harris. The strong safety filled in for Tartt last year when the veteran went down with an injury just eight games into the season. Harris ended his rookie season playing eight games, finishing with 34 total tackles.
He looked primed to remain on the roster, even if just as insurance for Tartt, but apparently the staff thinks enough of the versatility across its defensive backfield to consider Harris a surplus to requirements. Or they believe there’s an option somewhere on the waiver wire or a future practice squad member, who can step up in case of injury.
In any case, given what happened with Kentavius Street and the team’s desire to make that draft pick not look wasted, it is odd to see them give up on Harris so quickly after drafting him.
Next. 5 biggest takeaways from 49ers roster cuts in 2019. dark
It’s certain John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have a plan at the position, but at this point it isn’t fully clear what that is moving forward.