49ers: Top 5 mistakes Lynch and Shanahan made during 2019 roster cuts

The San Francisco 49ers’ initial 53-man roster for the 2019 NFL season was full of surprises. We break down the five biggest personnel mistakes GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan made during the Niners’ final roster cut-down.

In the lead-up to the NFL regular season, we are flooded with 53-man roster predictions for the San Francisco 49ers, along with the rest of the teams in the league. These roster projections are often impacted by the smallest tidbit of injury news, and they can be completely revamped after a single preseason game.

Projecting a NFL team’s initial roster is a fun exercise, similar to the many mocks we see during NFL draft season; but while mock drafts are well-known to be an entertaining fool’s errand, analysts at least have a fighting chance for near-accuracy when projecting an NFL team’s initial 53-man roster.

But if you compiled a roster projection for the 2019 San Francisco 49ers in the lead-up to Saturday’s roster cut deadline, one thing is for sure: You didn’t get it right.

When it comes to player personnel, 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan tend to march to a different beat — and 2019 has been no different. Once again, we’re left to question whether they’re a pair of masterminds engaged in 4D chess or if they’re just too stubborn to get out of their own way.

Before we dove into the 49ers’ personnel mistakes, we discussed the duo’s five top roster moves that garnered criticism from fans but are likely to reap benefits for the team going forward. Now that we’ve covered the good, let’s break down the five biggest personnel mistakes Lynch and Shanahan made when they cut the 49ers’ initial roster down to 53 players: