3 shocking cuts 49ers could make before Week 1
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Running Back Tevin Coleman
It’s not new to put veteran running back Tevin Coleman on the list of players who may possibly not make San Francisco’s 53-man roster in 2020. After all, before April 1, cutting Coleman would have saved the Niners over $4 million against the cap with zero in dead money. Now that the date has passed, doing the same would save $2.87 million with $2 million in dead money.
Simply put, if the 49ers didn’t see Coleman as a part of their future plans in 2020, they would have parted ways with him by now.
Another caveat here is Kyle Shanahan’s affinity for the tailback. Despite spurts of performance, Coleman’s efforts — particularly his stellar Week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers and the divisional round against the Minnesota Vikings — were boom or bust.
True, the Niners cleared up space in the running back room by trading Matt Breida during the NFL Draft. But the 49ers are also getting fellow runner Jerick McKinnon back from a two-year injury absence, so that negates Breida’s departure.
Tack on the undrafted free-agent additions of JaMycal Hasty and Salvon Ahmed after the draft, both of whom could make the roster as upstart candidates, and it’s possible Coleman ends up being the odd man out.
Even if it’ll now cost San Francisco $2 million in dead money.