49ers depth chart: 4 players who benefit from no preseason

No. 2: 49ers Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon

While it’s not quite as likely as some others, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is on the roster bubble heading into training camp. From a financial standpoint, it would be much easier for San Francisco to move on from the three-year pro and former third-round NFL Draft pick than Solomon Thomas.

Especially considering the Niners already seem to have their starting tandem of boundary corners in place, Richard Sherman and Emmanuel Moseley.

The 49ers didn’t do too much to address their cornerback depth needs during the offseason, though, and that automatically benefits Witherspoon. The only notable moves were to re-sign reserve cornerbacks Dontae Johnson and Jason Verrett, as well as the move to bring aboard the undrafted rookie, DeMarkus Acy.

All three could potentially push Witherspoon from the primary reserve role backing up Sherman and Moseley. But the lack of practical on-field games, even in exhibition style, means Witherspoon can use training camp alone to bounce back from the frustrating and inconsistent campaign he showed a year ago.

In this case, it’s much likelier San Francisco goes with a player it knows has the ability to be a solid cornerback over less-known commodities, even if Witherspoon was nowhere near as consistent as he needed to be last year.