SF 49ers: Final bubble watch ahead of Week 1 roster cuts
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers Offensive Line
Lock: Daniel Brunskill, Ben Garland, Laken Tomlinson, Justin Skule, Mike McGlinchey, Trent Williams
Strong bubble: Tom Compton, Colton McKivitz*
Weak bubble: Ross Reynolds, Hroniss Grasu, William Sweet
Long shot: Jaryd Jones-Smith, Dakoda Shepley, Weston Richburg
No one needs to worry about three of the five starting positions the SF 49ers have to fill along their offensive line: left tackle Trent Williams, right tackle Mike McGlinchey and left guard Laken Tomlinson.
But the other two positions, center and right guard, are very much up in the air.
Veteran center Weston Richburg is a long shot, based solely on his ongoing recovery from a 2019 patellar tendon tear in his knee last season. The latest reports suggest he’ll start the year on the PUP list, putting him out of action for at least the first six weeks.
If that wasn’t bad enough, backup center Ben Garland has been banged up with an ankle injury and could miss a week or two to start the season.
That’s created a bit of a flux between center and right guard, shifting the presumed starter on the right side, Daniel Brunskill, into an emergency center job while opening up a better chance for both Tom Compton and Colton McKivitz to make the 53-man roster.
The problem, though, is neither Compton nor McKivitz have been overly impressive in training camp, regularly giving up pressure to the Niners’ backup pass-rushers during drills and practices.
Veteran swing tackle Shon Coleman opting out all but ensures second-year pro Justin Skule makes the roster.