The San Francisco 49ers (probably) just ended the Nick Zakelj era.
Amid several injuries during training camp, including the Niners offensive lineman dealing with an elbow injury and missing practice, San Francisco opted to release its sixth-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft.
Zakelj managed to hang around for years beyond what many thought would be a brief tenure in the Bay Area. Perhaps the only saving grace early was he was quarterback Brock Purdy's roommate that first season, but after several failed attempts to turn him into a reliable backup at several positions, it was provocative Zakelj managed to hold onto a roster spot.
True, the Fordham product managed to hold onto roster spots through 2024, but in 2025, he was part of pre-Week 1 cuts. Nevertheless, Zakelj managed to sneak onto the practice squad and was even promoted for three regular-season games a year ago.
In order to sign offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr. to bolster the depth chart, the 49ers opted to give Zakelj the boot:
The 49ers announce they signed OL Doug Kramer Jr. and released OL Nick Zakelj.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 10, 2026
Despite signing a one-year deal earlier this offseason, perhaps this is the final time the Niners entertained having Zakelj on their roster.
49ers may have finally run out of patience with Nick Zakelj
It wasn't shocking to see Zakelj fail to make the 53-man roster a year ago, but the fact he was retained on the practice squad suggested San Francisco still had interest in him.
This now marks the earliest Zakelj has been dismissed, and with the preseason around the corner, perhaps it's an indication the 49ers aren't exactly looking to bring him back in any capacity. Things could change, of course, especially if the Niners end up dealing with even more injuries to their offensive line. And Zakelj does have the bonus of having worked with many of the same coaches over the past few years.
That said, Zakelj's roster spot had already been in jeopardy for a while now, so seeing him let go shouldn't come as a major surprise.
Effectively, Zakelj is the 91st man on a 90-man roster. And it won't be hard to push him further and further away from being re-signed in any capacity.
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