49ers roster: 4 players who could be cut without taking a snap

The 49ers will have to trim their offseason crop of players by nearly half to make the 53 man roster in 2022, meaning some cuts won’t ever play a regular-season game.

Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) recent example of a former San Francisco 49ers player who never saw a regular-season snap despite having something of a high profile was wide receiver Jalen Hurd, the Niners’ Round 3 NFL Draft pick from 2019.

Granted, injuries got in the way of Hurd ever making an impact, and the only notable on-field moments he had were during preseason games before ultimately being waived prior to the start of the 2021 season.

Simply put, regular-season roster cuts can be a brutal business regardless of whether or not injuries played a role.

San Francisco’s offseason pickups via free agency and the 2022 draft now have the team’s roster at 90 players, but the 49ers will need to get that number down to 53 by the beginning of Week 1.

As such, these four players may wind up being let go before they ever have a chance to take a regular-season snap with the Niners.

No. 4: 49ers cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields

It’s usually easy to toss in some late-round NFL Draft rookies into the mix of players who’ll never suit up for their respective teams, especially since there are only 16 spots on a practice squad and those teams often fill them up with second- or third-year players, not even including the six veteran spots now available over the last two-plus seasons.

In rookie cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields’ case, it certainly applies.

The sixth-round pick out of Penn State faces a massively uphill battle to crack the 53-man roster, particularly in light of San Francisco re-signing veteran corner Jason Verrett right after the draft, adding him to the presumed starting crop of Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley.

Assuming the 49ers keep no more than six on the regular-season roster, Castro-Fields will have to beat out a large number of other cornerbacks, including Ambry Thomas, Deommodore Lenoir, Darqueze Dennard, Dontae Johnson and another rookie, Samuel Womack.

Those are long odds, and the Niners may look to stash other corners on their practice squad for 2022, meaning Castro-Fields might be looking elsewhere for a team come Week 1.