San Francisco 49ers: 5 current players who won’t make 2021 roster

No. 2: 49ers Wide Receiver Jordan Matthews

Yes, remember wide receiver Jordan Matthews is still on the team?

After bouncing back and forth off the roster both in 2019 and 2020, Matthews saw a slight chance to increase his roster value in 2021 once the Niners lost their No. 3 depth-chart option, Kendrick Bourne, on a free-agent deal with the New England Patriots.

While true, San Francisco’s wide receiver depth behind Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk is questionable at best, Matthews’ chances to hang around into the regular season took a major hit with the free-agent pickup of wide receiver Trent Sherfield, who was previously buried on the Arizona Cardinals’ depth chart.

Sherfield, 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, has a similar build to Bourne but has notably more-impressive speed, which gives him an edge over the older, slower Matthews.

And it’s likely Sherfield would win out over Matthews in training camp anyway, particularly given the former has far more experience on special teams, too.

Adding to Matthews’ tough road ahead is the fact the 2021 draft is also incredibly deep with wide receiver talent, and it would almost be foolish for the 49ers to avoid using one of their nine picks, including five on day three, to answer some of the questions surrounding the wide receiver depth chart.

Even with those questions in place now, Matthews seems like nothing more than a longshot to hang around.