This is the 49ers' first official 53-man roster of 2023
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers engineered their massive wave of roster cuts at the Tuesday deadline, which provides us with their first 53-man roster of the 2023 season.
Just prior to the league-mandated "cut-down" day for NFL team rosters, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that the opening 53-man roster isn't exactly something set in stone.
Considering all the roster changes that take place over the course of a full season, there are inevitably going to be shake-ups, additions, more cuts and potential trades.
That said, no bigger roster shake-up takes place than the one just before Week 1 of the regular season, and the Niners ultimately elected to make some notable moves to trim their 90-man preseason roster down to the opening set of 53 players.
There were some surprises, yes (there always are). But, for now at least, we have our opening 53-man roster for San Francisco.
49ers' first 53-man roster of 2023 NFL season
* denotes rookie
Quarterback (3)
Brandon Allen
Sam Darnold
Brock Purdy
No surprises here in the wake of the 49ers' shocking trade of Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys. Allen makes the cut as a primary result.
Running back (5)
Tyrion Davis-Price
Kyle Juszczcyk
Jordan Mason
Christian McCaffrey
Elijah Mitchell
Waiving undrafted rookie Khalan Laborn was a small surprise, but he wasn't going to make the 53-man roster unless Davis-Price struggled mightily in the preseason, which didn't happen.
Wide receiver (6)
Brandon Aiyuk
Ronnie Bell*
Danny Gray
Jauan Jennings
Ray-Ray McCloud
Deebo Samuel
Injuries to both Gray and McCloud mean both probably switch to injured reserve but were named to the opening 53-man roster so neither would be subjected to waivers. The Niners will likely add at least one more wide receiver, perhaps Chris Conley (who was cut) after the procedural move, since this group is pretty shorthanded now.
Tight end (4)
Ross Dwelley
George Kittle
Brayden Willis*
Charlie Woerner
San Francisco sent rookie Cameron Latu to injured reserve prior to announcing the 53-man roser, which means the 2023 third-round NFL Draft pick will be ineligible to play for his first year at the pro level.
It's probably good for him, though, because he struggled mightily in camp and the preseason.
Offensive line (9)
Aaron Banks
Jake Brendel
Spencer Burford
Jon Feliciano
Colton McKivitz
Jaylon Moore
Matt Pryor
Trent Williams
Nick Zakelj
It was a bit of a surprise to see Zakelj added to the 53-man roster after regularly being called for holding penalties during the preseason, but alas, he made it.
This comes at the expense, though, of other promising linemen like Ilm Manning and Jason Poe, who'll be prime practice squad candidates.
Defensive line (9)
Arik Armstead
Robert Beal Jr.*
Nick Bosa
Kalia Davis
Clelin Ferrell
Kevin Givens
Javon Hargrave
Drake Jackson
Javon Kinlaw
Bosa appears on the 49ers' opening 53-man roster despite being on the reserve/DNR list for holding out of training camp amid his contract dispute, potentially meaning the two parties could be coming closer to a resolution despite rumors to the contrary.
Or it could merely be a procedural move, too, and Bosa reverts back to such a list if he's ultimately going to miss Week 1.
Linebacker (6)
Oren Burks
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
Jalen Graham*
Dre Greenlaw
Fred Warner
Dee Winters*
The Niners' two rookie linebackers, Graham and Winters, made the cut. That's pretty remarkable, except for the fact that Graham impressed a lot during both camp and the preseason.
San Francisco has the best linebacker room in football because of Warner and Greenlaw, but Graham and Winters help reinforce that.
Secondary (9)
Ji'Ayir Brown*
Tashaun Gipson
Talanoa Hufanga
George Odum
Isaiah Oliver
Deommodore Lenoir
Ambry Thomas
Charvarius Ward
Samuel Womack
Not too many surprises within the defensive backfield, although undrafted rookie D'Shawn Jamison would have been a nice add to the 53-man roster after impressing a bunch over the last month. He'll likely be a practice squad member if another team doesn't claim him off waivers.
Nickel cornerback might still be a problem, however, as Oliver struggled there for much of the preseason, which prompted San Francisco to move members around within its secondary.
Don't be surprised if this group changes a bit between now and Week 1's contest versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Specialists (3)
Jake Moody*
Taybor Pepper
Mitch Wishnowsky
The 49ers are dealing with injuries at kicker, and that meant Zane Gonzalez landed on IR just like Latu to open up the season.
Moody, the third-round draftee, is also dealing with an injury but is now probably expected back sooner than later.
He could still miss Week 1, though, as the Niners were reportedly shopping for kickers at the cut-down deadline.
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