5 dark-horse candidates to make 49ers 53-man roster in 2022

The 49ers have received some surprising play from a number of bubble-watch players this preseason, and these five may wind up making the 53 man roster.

For those who think preseason football doesn’t matter, try telling that to a fringe player on any given team who has to use the three-game exhibition phase as a last-ditch effort to impress the coaching staff enough to hang around and potentially land a spot on the regular-season 53-man roster.

Doing so won’t be easy for the San Francisco 49ers heading into 2022. After all, a playoff-caliber team doesn’t exactly have a ton of open spots needing to be filled, and there are arguably only two or three starting jobs available anyway.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already trimmed five players off the 90-man offseason roster the team had entering training camp, and another five will be dismissed on Tuesday, Aug. 23 before final cuts are made following the Niners’ preseason finale against the Houston Texans on Thursday, Aug. 25.

And while these five bubble-watch players still face long odds at making the 53-man roster, perhaps some recent impressive performances over two preseason games earn them the designation of being dark-horse additions to the regular-season squad.

49ers dark-horse roster candidate No. 5: LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball

San Francisco is stacked at linebacker with Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair occupying the starting roles. And it’s likely George Odum and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles earn the likely two reserve spots Shanahan will designate with this group.

However, undrafted rookie Marcelino McCrary-Ball has been a nice storyline this preseason, especially in the wake of his gift of an interception in preseason Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, subsequently returned for a whopping 57 yards:

Ultimately, McCrary-Ball’s special teams abilities will determine whether or not he hangs around, and one splash play might not be enough for him to earn consideration.

However, if the 49ers elect to keep six linebackers on the 53-man roster, it’ll be hard to leave McCrary-Ball off the group.