49ers depth chart: 5 players who won’t be on the roster in Week 1

The 49ers will face some tough roster decisions heading into training camp, and these five players likely find themselves off the team by Week 1.

For the most part, the San Francisco 49ers‘ starting lineup for the upcoming 2021 campaign is set. Aside from a modest handful of position battles likely to be determined during training camp, the real story behind how head coach Kyle Shanahan formulates his 53-man roster ahead of Week 1 will center on depth positions and reserves.

Each year, there are players who are essentially on the roster bubble by default. Some weaker-end bubble-watch players wind up becoming dark-horse candidates to make the squad, while others end up being relatively shocking cuts in the attempt to trim the roster down to 53 players.

For those new or unfamiliar with a team’s offseason roster, going from 90 players down to 53 obviously creates some tough decisions.

Some will be easier than others, of course. Many players invited to participate in the Niners’ offseason program stand little chance of hanging around into Week 1. Yet there are others who probably don’t wind up hanging around into the regular season despite seemingly having a pedigree suggesting the otherwise could.

Here are five players who fit into that category.

No. 5: 49ers Quarterback Josh Rosen

There was an argument to give the former No. 10 overall NFL Draft pick, quarterback Josh Rosen, some field time late in 2020 after San Francisco plucked him off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.

Rosen never saw any game action last year, of course, and the 49ers subsequently re-signed him to a one-year deal during the offseason.

Quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance are effectively shoo-ins to make the 53-man roster this season, leaving Rosen to compete with other backups, Josh Johnson and Nate Sudfeld, to compete for the No. 3 spot on the regular-season roster.

Sudfeld, who signed a one-year offseason contract with $252,000 in guaranteed money, seems to have the upper hand in that regard. Neither Rosen nor Johnson have any guarantees for their respective deals, and that sort of thing matters in determining who makes the cut.

In all likelihood, unless Sudfeld bombs in camp and Rosen somehow thrives beyond any expected belief, the former UCLA star will continue his journey of trying to find a forever home in the NFL.