49ers roster 2023: No room for T.Y. McGill on the D-line?

The 49ers brought aboard T.Y. McGill to reinforce the defensive line last season, but will there be room for him on the roster in 2023?

If there's one universal truth about the current San Francisco 49ers regime, it's that they'll continuously spend resources to reinforce and upgrade their defensive line.

When one thinks of such efforts, defensive tackle T.Y. McGill doesn't exactly come to mind.

The 30-year-old veteran journeyman made his way to the Niners in the middle of the 2022 season, first being added as a free agent to the practice squad and then receiving a call-up to the active roster that November. He appeared in eight games for San Francisco, which was without defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw for extensive periods of time, and recorded eight tackles, two of which were for a loss, and two quarterback hits.

Breaking into the league as an undrafted free-agent signing of the Indianapolis Colts in 2015 out of NC State, McGill has 43 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble over 55 career games played with six different teams.

Re-signed by the 49ers during the offseason, McGill could theoretically make the 53-man roster.

But, in light of both Kinlaw and Armstead returning healthy, and other D-line additions this offseason, will there be room for the 6-foot, 295-pound McGill?

How much are the 49ers paying T.Y. McGill?

According to Over the Cap, McGill's one-year deal for 2023 is worth up to $1.165 million with $400,000 of it guaranteed.

That's substantial enough to suggest McGill is more than just a camp body who'll easily be let go by the time the preseason is finished, but it's nowhere near enough to guarantee him a spot on the 53-man roster.

So, the logical conclusion is that he'll have to earn his way onto the regular-season squad despite some hefty competition in front and behind him on the depth chart.

Why T.Y. McGill makes 49ers' 53-man roster (and why he doesn't)

Up through 2021, the Niners have carried a traditional 1-technique nose tackle, primarily D.J. Jones from 2017 through that 2021 season until he signed with the Denver Broncos.

Fellow defensive tackle Kevin Givens is the closest thing to that, meaning McGill pretty much needs to beat out Givens to make the cut. But San Francisco might prefer Givens over McGill anyway despite the latter having some prowess around the league.

Plus, even though McGill isn't competing with Armstead, Kinlaw and especially the 49ers' biggest free-agent pickup from the offseason, Javon Hargrave, all three of those players' spots on the depth chart push down the rest of the cast.

McGill survives cuts if he outplays Givens in camp and the preseason by a wide margin. If he doesn't, or if the Niners deep that a run-stopping interior lineman who plays mostly in base-down formation isn't worth a roster spot, McGill would likely be shown his walking papers.

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