SF 49ers final 53-man roster projection ahead of Week 1
SF 49ers Wide Receivers (6)
Deebo Samuel
Kendrick Bourne
Trent Taylor
Dante Pettis
Brandon Aiyuk
Richie James, Jr
The top of this list hasn’t changed much, although the ACL injury to Jalen Hurd not only put a damper on his return from last season’s back injury but also opened up some opportunities for a few others to make the roster.
It appears that breakout star receiver Deebo Samuel will indeed be ready for Week 1, but that although it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play against the Cardinals. He should be on the roster, however, barring any setbacks, since placing on the SF 49ers’ PUP list means he couldn’t play for six weeks.
Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor have both had standout camps, but the roster spot of both wasn’t really in question.
The same can’t be said for Dante Pettis, who has emerged from the doldrums of his 2019 season with a renewed sense of purpose and appears primed to take advantage of Hurd’s injury and become a major contributor in 2020.
Rookie first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk was also in the midst of an excellent camp when he went down with a minor hamstring tweak that the team is allowing to rest. He won’t see the practice field again until closer to Week 1 but was a roster lock anyway.
That leaves one final spot among a cadre of options, including rookie seventh-round pick Jauan Jennings, Shawn Poindexter, and newly signed players like River Cracraft, and Kevin White.
Before landing on injured reserve with a knee injury late in camp, Tavon Austin had the right combination of something to prove, having never lived up to his first-round draft selection during his seven NFL seasons, and his having been around the team for most of training camp, something the other two recent additions couldn’t offer. Yet the only challenge was trying to unseat Richie James, who was initially expected to start the year on an injury list after breaking his wrist during the offseason.
James is back active, though, so he’ll get the final spot.