49ers roster: 3 players who didn’t help chances in loss vs. Chiefs

The 49ers ultimately lost their 2021 preseason opener against the Chiefs on Saturday, but these three players did more damage to their roster chances.

It’s pretty safe to assume rookie quarterback Trey Lance will make the San Francisco 49ers‘ 53-man roster when the 2021 NFL preseason comes to a close.

Lance wasn’t perfect, taking four sacks and getting away with a number of risky throws that could have gone for interceptions during the 49ers’ 2021 exhibition opener against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs. But what fans will pay attention to the most, however, is Lance’s 80-yard bomb of a touchdown to wide receiver Trent Sherfield that officially put Lance on the “NFL rookie to watch” radar this season.

It’s awfully fun to chat up Lance, the Niners’ top pick from this year’s NFL Draft. But despite all that Lance did, there were plenty of other performances that left a lot to be desired.

Granted, preseason narratives are always shaky ones. Nearly half the team will be gone a month from now in the wake of roster cuts, and many of those who played in the third and fourth quarter will be part of those ranks.

That said, there were also a number of veteran players who might have put themselves in jeopardy after Saturday night’s performance.

Lance’s ascent is eventually going to push out the veteran quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. But that won’t happen right away.

However, looking at a number of other player performances, there are others who certainly didn’t help their roster chances ahead of Week 1 and might have put themselves in greater danger of being cut.

Particularly these three.