49ers 53-man roster prediction before final preseason game vs. Texans
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers wrap up the 2022 preseason on the road against the Texans, so let’s dish out one final prediction for this year’s 53 man roster before it’s official.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has already removed 10 players from what was once the 90-man offseason roster he had entering training camp.
The first wave had a bit of a shocker in veteran cornerback Darqueze Dennard, while the second wave made a small surprise by parting ways with tight end Tanner Hudson, who led the Niners in both receptions and receiving yards during their preseason Week 2 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Yet those transactions will be considered minimal not long after San Francisco squares off against the Houston Texans for the preseason finale on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Shanahan will do what the other 31 NFL teams have to do by Tuesday, Aug. 30: trim the roster down from 80 players to the initial 53-man roster that’ll all but comprise what the 49ers field in Week 1 of the regular season.
There are going to be some tough choices. Should the Niners keep three quarterbacks? How about stockpiling additional defensive backs amid injuries at cornerback and safety? What about the offensive line?
We’ve already done some extensive work trying to predict what the initial 53-man roster will look like.
With just one more preseason game to go, however, let’s give it an estimated stab again to see who makes the cut.
Note: Backups are italicized, rookies will have an asterisk.
49ers 53-man roster predictions: Special teams (3)
Kicker (1): Robbie Gould
Punter (1): Mitch Wishnowsky
Long-snapper (1): Taybor Pepper
Even if San Francisco brought in an additional specialist to either compete with the battery of Robbie Gould, Mitch Wishnowsky and Taybor Pepper, or to at least keep one of those three fresh for the regular season, the reality is the 49ers weren’t going to move away from this trio whatsoever.
The Niners didn’t even bother to do so, however, and the only drama here is that Wishnowsky will no longer be handling kickoff duties this season.
Those have been delegated back to Gould.
Dramatic, right?