49ers roster: 5 players on thin ice entering training camp

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Colton McKivitz #68, Justin Skule #67, Daniel Brunskill #60, Laken Tomlinson #75, Ben Garland #63 and Tom Compton #66 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

49ers thin-ice player No. 4: Offensive lineman Colton McKivitz

Last year, training camp practices revealed San Francisco’s second-team offensive line was a serious problem, which wasn’t exactly a big endorsement for those vying to secure key backup spots to what should have been a quality starting crop.

Especially the second-year pro, Colton McKivitz, who ultimately found himself waived once the regular season commenced after spending his rookie 2020 campaign fluctuating between being a spot starter and backup.

Considering the 49ers elected to keep backups like Tom Compton and then-rookie Jaylon Moore over McKivitz and despite having lost swing tackle Justin Skule to a season-ending ACL tear earlier in the offseason, McKivitz failing to make the cut wasn’t a good look.

Granted, McKivitz found himself promoted to the regular-season roster halfway through the year in the wake of starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey’s quad tear, yet the former still managed to see action in only one game.

Now, in the wake of the Niners adding two more drafted rookies, Spencer Burford and Nick Zakelj, McKivitz is now locked in a serious fight for one of possibly four backup spots this season.

If last year’s efforts carry over into this year, it doesn’t look as if McKivitz’s job will be safe.