SF 49ers: 3 positions with most concern after roster cuts

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Colton McKivitz #68, Justin Skule #67, Daniel Brunskill #60, Laken Tomlinson #75, Ben Garland #63 and Tom Compton #66 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

SF 49ers Offensive Line

53-Man Roster: Mike McGlinchey, Trent Williams, Laken Tomlinson, Daniel Brunskill, Tom Compton, Ben Garland, Colton McKivitz and Justin Skule

Practice Squad: Hroniss Grasu, Dakoda Shepley, William Sweet

The SF 49ers elected to keep eight offensive linemen on their 53-man roster, which is standard, and new league rules do allow for an additional two players to be promoted on game day from the practice squad, provided one of them is an offensive lineman.

This should guard against some of the injury concerns the Niners are already dealing with here.

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While there’s little concern about tackles Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey, and no worries about left guard Laken Tomlinson either, San Francisco does have concerns at center and at right guard. With veteran center Weston Richburg still rehabbing a knee injury suffered last year and being out on the physically unable-to-perform list for the first six weeks of the regular season, the thinking would have been his backup, Ben Garland, filling the void like he did in the latter half of 2019 and into the playoffs.

But Garland is dealing with an ankle injury. Him making the 53-man roster is a good sign of his recovery, but he might not be available for Week 1. Perhaps beyond.

The injuries forced Kyle Shanahan to shuffle the interior of his O-line a bit during training camp, moving Daniel Brunskill over from right guard to center and inserting backup lineman Tom Compton in Brunskill’s initial stead.

Neither player performed particularly well in their new respective roles.

Keeping reserve center Hroniss Grasu on the practice squad is a bonus, and one figures he’ll be promoted on game day to back up this unit if Garland isn’t available.

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Still, the interior of the Niners O-line could be a bit of a weakness until this unit gets back up to full strength.