The 49ers do face some tough decisions with regard to their roster in 2023, but it’s safe to say these five are making it an easy choice not to return next season.
The San Francisco 49ers are again going to face some awfully tough choices with regard to shaping up their roster for the 2023 season, and the immediate nature of the NFL almost dictates that general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan don’t worry about the choices they’ll have to make in the upcoming season right now.
But it doesn’t mean Lynch and Shanahan are avoiding the evaluation process.
There have already been a number of Niners standouts over the first third of the 2022 season, including some players who weren’t exactly expected to be notable contributors. Some, who are poised to hit NFL free agency this offseason, might be too difficult to retain.
Others, however, have seemingly disappeared from San Francisco’s immediate plans. Essentially, these five players are already playing themselves off the 49ers roster heading into next season.
No. 5: 49ers defensive end Jordan Willis
In case you were wondering, EDGE Jordan Willis hasn’t taken the field for the Niners in the regular season yet.
It’s not his fault, Willis has actually been relegated to injured reserve where he’s been since Week 2 after not playing the opening week of the year.
Willis had carved out something of a niche role for San Francisco’s defense as a situational pass-rusher, and he made a notable contribution on special teams last January with that memorable blocked punt against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Since then, though, the 49ers have gotten by with some other notable defensive linemen such as Charles Omenihu, Hassan Ridgeway and Kevin Givens, all of whom appear to be more valuable to the Niners’ D-line rotation right now.
Granted, San Francisco has appreciated Willis’ role before, and he could still feasibly return as a late-season reinforcement if needed.
However, it looks as if the 49ers will probably prefer to move on sooner than later.
No. 4: 49ers tight end Ross Dwelley
It’s something of an anomaly seeing the Niners give more snaps to third-year tight end Charlie Woerner over the elder veteran, Ross Dwelley, who adequately backed up All-Pro George Kittle during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Dwelley is far more refined as a pass-catcher than Woerner, yet 2022 is marking the second consecutive year in which Woerner has surpassed Dwelley in offensive snap counts.
To date through seven weeks this season, Dwelley has only 71 offensive snaps to Woerner’s 134.
San Francisco is trying to work fellow veteran tight end Tyler Kroft back into the rotation after he’s missed much of the year with an injury, and it appears as if Woerner isn’t going anywhere anytime soon either.
That makes Dwelley a bit of an excess commodity, and it might not be shocking if the 49ers look to move him prior to the 2022 NFL trade deadline if there are any takers, which doesn’t seem too likely.
What’s more likely is for Dwelley to hit the NFL free agency market this offseason and not return to the Niners.
No. 3: 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas
It’s been quite the two years for two-year pro cornerback Ambry Thomas.
Thomas went from a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to being inactive his first few weeks with San Francisco during the regular season, then struggling when finally called upon to start because of injury attrition, and then improving to the point where he was in the conversation to start in 2022, yes, it’s been a ride.
Except for Thomas’ sophomore year in the NFL hasn’t exactly been promising.
True, the 49ers adding cornerback Charvarius Ward in NFL free agency last offseason bumped everyone down the depth chart. But Thomas didn’t help his own cause by struggling in training camp, and he’s now buried pretty far behind other defensive backs like Dontae Johnson and Deommodore Lenoir.
All to the point where Thomas has seen a mere 16 defensive snaps despite the Niners already having lost starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley to a season-ending ACL tear.
And while Thomas has remained a special teams contributor, it doesn’t appear as if he’s trending in the right direction for San Francisco’s defense.
It wouldn’t be shocking if Thomas’ career with the 49ers spans a mere two years, nothing more.
No. 2: 49ers defensive back Tarvarius Moore
Another one of those Niners defensive backs who has seemingly disappeared from the defensive game plan this season is the versatile Tarvarius Moore.
Yes, the player who missed all of 2021 because of a torn Achilles yet figured to at least make something of an impact in 2022 because of his ability to play a multitude of positions.
And it isn’t as if San Francisco hasn’t needed such a player. The 49ers have been shorthanded at cornerback because of the Emmanuel Moseley injury, they were without free safety Jimmie Ward for five of the first seven weeks because of injuries, and even strong safety Talanoa Hufanga missed a brief amount of time in Week 6 with a concussion.
One might think Moore, the speedy Round 3 draft pick from 2018, would at least see his field time increase in light of those shortages, but the Niners have nevertheless fielded him for a mere 12 defensive snaps.
That’s it.
San Francisco has valued its other depth safeties, such as Tashaun Gipson and George Odum, and even though Moore has been a significant contributor on special teams this season, that alone won’t be enough to save him from the NFL free agency list in 2023.
No. 1: 49ers right tackle Mike McGlinchey
Right tackle Mike McGlinchey isn’t as bad a player as many fans make him out to be. Despite having noticeable problems blocking against bull-rushers, McGlinchey is still among the better run-blocking linemen in the league. Plus, combined with the fact he’s returning from a torn quad suffered halfway through the 2021 season, it’s commendable for him to be at an even serviceable level right now.
But that might not be enough to convince the 49ers to spend big bucks on him this offseason.
The Niners did pick up McGlinchey’s fifth-year option, yes, but he’s ticketed for NFL free agency in 2023. And, if one was to listen to McGlinchey’s former teammate and current friend, Joe Staley, McGlinchey needs to put all the pieces together now to ensure he’ll capitalize on his first lucrative contract at the NFL level.
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Without draft picks in Rounds 1 or 2 in the 2023 draft, San Francisco might either have to bid on veteran tackles to replace McGlinchey next year or hope he somehow improves against the bull rush to the point where the 49ers want to bring him back.
Right now, though, it sure looks as if the Niners will explore other options rather than retain their 2018 first-round pick.