49ers roster 2021: Bubble watch ahead of preseason Week 1
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers open up their 2021 preseason campaign on Saturday, so Niner Noise evaluates who’s currently safe and who’s still on the bubble.
The San Francisco 49ers have already tweaked the back end of their 90-man roster this offseason, tacking on a number of players such as veteran safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the wake of likely losing strong safety Jaquiski Tartt to a reaggravated toe injury last year.
There have been other moves, too, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch make some additional tweaks between now and Week 1.
Yet the biggest challenge, as it is every countdown before the regular season, will be trimming that 90-man roster down to 53 players, which ultimately means nearly half the current crop of players will be seeking employment elsewhere a little less than a month from now.
The Niners kick off their 2021 preseason campaign on Saturday, Aug. 14 against the Kansas City Chiefs, and these exhibition contests will mean a lot for those players on the fringes.
So, naturally, it’s time to run another bubble-watch piece to see who’s safe, who’s on the bubble and who’s got almost zero chance.
Our categories for determination are the usual:
- Lock: Barring anything crazy, this player is on the roster
- Strong bubble: Definitely not a lock, but looking good
- Weak bubble: An outsider’s chance at best
- Long shot: Hope you enjoyed your time in camp
Of all the positional units on San Francisco’s roster, special teams is probably the easiest to assess, so let’s start there.
49ers Bubble Watch: Special Teams
Lock: Robbie Gould, Mitch Wishnowsky, Taybor Pepper
Strong Bubble: None
Weak Bubble: None
Long Shot: None
There’s no drama here, as the 49ers retained their entire battery of special teams specialists during the offseason and didn’t onboard any competition whatsoever.
Although offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel hilariously deferred any questions about long-snapper Taybor Pepper to special teams coordinator Richard Hightower during a recent press conference.
To put you all at ease who didn’t understand the context of the presser, there are no pressing questions about Pepper.