49ers roster: 53-man bubble watch with 2022 minicamp in the books

The 49ers concluded mandatory minicamp last week, which means there’s more evidence to predict a 53 man roster heading towards the 2022 season.

Yes, a lot of things have changed for the San Francisco 49ers in the wake of Niner Noise’s previous roster-bubble watch stemming from the team’s actions in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Perhaps the biggest development was the sudden (if not predicted) retirement of veteran Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, whose departure creates a significant void on the depth chart. This is made more notable by considering the Niners didn’t exactly identify an experienced and high-quality replacement either before or in the immediate aftermath of Mack’s retirement.

Mack, understandably, wasn’t at mandatory minicamp, which concluded last week. Yet there was good news, though, as All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel was in attendance despite his offseason trade request. And while he didn’t partake in full-team practices, it’s nevertheless a good sign having him back at the facility.

Enough of all that, though.

We have some additional practice sessions in the books. So, in response to that, let’s update San Francisco’s roster bubble with our usual criteria:

• Lock (not going anywhere)
• Strong bubble (not a lock, but looking pretty good)
• Weak bubble (a seriously uphill fight to make the cut)
• Long shot (so you’re telling me there’s a chance… right?)

Going through each player currently on San Francisco’s 90-man offseason roster, let’s apply what we learned in minicamp and see who’s safe, on the bubble and has next to no chance heading into 2022.

Starting off with special teams.