They may have survived the opening wave of roster cuts, but these 49ers players still need to showcase their value in Week 2 of the preseason against the Vikings.
The San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 regular-season roster is going to look nothing like it did during their preseason Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers, and the roster from that game probably won’t come close to fielding anywhere near the same number of players the Niners will deploy in preseason Week 2 on the road against the Minnesota Vikings.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already expressed his preferences for scrimmages and practices over preseason games, and both San Francisco and Minnesota will be engaging in those before the week is over.
As such, the 49ers are likely to field players who are almost exclusively on the roster bubble and in real danger of missing out on the 53-man cut to start Week 1 of the regular season.
Eighty-five players have already survived the opening five-man roster cuts, but with an additional five more to be waived or released on Tuesday, Aug. 23, the pressure is on for these players to perform much better than they did last week against the Packers.
49ers bounce-back player No. 5: Offensive lineman Justin Skule
As things stand now, fourth-year reserve lineman Justin Skule is losing the battle to be the Niners’ primary swing tackle in support of starters Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey.
Although Skule relieved McGlinchey after the latter started eight snaps against Green Bay, the efforts from the former Vanderbilt product were not good, as he was credited with allowing two quarterback pressures on a mere 11 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Skule is already looking at returning San Francisco players vying for his job, Colton McKivitz and Jaylon Moore, as well as new faces like Jordan Mills and the rookie, Nick Zakelj.
In fairness to Skule, he missed all of 2021 with a torn ACL, so last Friday’s game marked his return to in-game action for the first time in over a year.
Yet that won’t matter if he winds up struggling against the Vikings in whatever role this Saturday.
49ers bounce-back player No. 4: Running back Trey Sermon
Unlike Justin Skule, running back Trey Sermon isn’t anywhere near in danger of missing out on a roster spot. And by all accounts, head coach Kyle Shanahan is pleased with the difference he’s seen from the 49ers’ third-round NFL Draft pick from a year ago.
Sermon’s preseason Week 1 efforts are an example where stats don’t tell the whole story. Case in point, he managed just 11 yards on six carries, which won’t suggest a good evening by any measure but have to be lined up against some poor lead-blocking in front of him that prevented some notable gains.
Although Trey Sermon had only 11 yds on 6 tries, Shanahan said he "was really happy with Trey": "I didn't think he had any really good looks that he should've gotten more on. But he didn't hesitate. He hit the hole hard. I thought he did a really good job with his opportunities."
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 13, 2022
What is at stake, though, is Sermon’s positioning on the depth chart.
With presumed No. 1 running back Elijah Mitchell not expected to play against Minnesota, Shanahan will probably turn to the reserves like Sermon, Tyrion Davis-Price, Jeff Wilson Jr., JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason a lot during the game, and there’s plenty of fluidity with regards to who primarily supports Mitchell in 2022.
Davis-Price, the Niners’ third-round pick this year, saw 10 rushes in contrast to Sermon’s six, meaning either Shanahan wants to give his rookie more exposure and experience or is tailoring him to serve a bigger role than Sermon.
Either way, even if the blocking isn’t particularly great, Sermon will want to have one or two of those impressive carries to improve his depth-chart stock value.
49ers bounce-back player No. 3: Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud
Again, another player on the list who isn’t in any danger of missing out on the 53-man roster but could see his role dramatically altered by what happens in the preseason.
Veteran Ray-Ray McCloud, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver San Francisco brought in via free agency to help spark special teams, could see himself as a valuable commodity on offense, too.
However, if there was one checkmark against McCloud entering 2022, it was his fumbling issues, compounded by a fumble against Green Bay that otherwise overshadowed a solid effort that included a great-separation 39-yard touchdown during the game.
McCloud had a career-high four fumbles with the Steelers last year, and it’s been an issue over his four-year career regardless, casting a little bit of doubt if Kyle Shanahan will rely on him as a receiver who can stretch the field.
Or if rookie wideout Danny Gray, who hauled in quarterback Trey Lance‘s 76-yard touchdown pass last Friday, winds up being the primary deep threat.
Either way, McCloud will need to demonstrate he’s not a liability with the ball in his hands.
49ers bounce-back player No. 2: Safety Tarvarius Moore
Slightly more towards the fringes of the roster but still not massively in danger, safety Tarvarius Moore also had himself a shaky return to NFL action after missing all of 2021 with an Achilles tear.
Moore surrendered a Packers touchdown to wide receiver Romeo Doubs and didn’t look good in the process, also missing a tackle and looking every bit as rusty on the field as Justin Skule was.
Now, the 49ers still probably view Moore as a big-nickel defensive back who can step in as a third safety with Jimmie Ward higher atop the defense and Talanoa Hufanga serving down low and closer towards the line of scrimmage.
However, Ward is likely to miss some time with a hamstring injury suffered in practice before the Niners traveled to scrimmage with the Vikings, which means Moore will probably finish out the rest of the preseason as San Francisco’s primary free safety.
That’s a great opportunity for him, but it also opens up the possibility of being exposed for whatever weaknesses were on display versus Green Bay.
Kyle Shanahan hinted at possibly bringing in some free-agent safety help to help alleviate Ward’s injury.
And while any new face likely won’t threaten Moore’s spot on the depth chart directly, another poor performance against Minnesota might convince the 49ers to explore more contingency options.
49ers bounce-back player No. 1: Cornerback Ambry Thomas
Throughout training camp, one player many a Niners fan wanted to see trend upwards was the 2021 third-round rookie, cornerback Ambry Thomas, who finished his first year in the NFL on a positive note after struggling over the first half.
However, Thomas’ camp efforts were not good, and it appears as if the inconsistency showed up in Week 1 of the preseason, too, giving up one catch for 12 yards on one of his two targets, then being flagged for illegal contact on the other.
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With Jimmie Ward out, along with presumed starting corners Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley, San Francisco is going to be shorthanded within its secondary for the game, meaning players like Thomas should see plenty of field time.
At this point, though, it’s looking as if the 49ers’ fifth-round addition from last year, Deommodore Lenoir, is much closer to cracking the regular-season roster than Thomas.
Particularly based on both camp and last Friday’s matchup against Green Bay.
Thomas will get another crack at things, though, when the Niners square off in exhibition action against the Vikings on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. ET from U.S. Bank Stadium.