5 surprising cuts from the 49ers' opening 53-man roster

The 49ers were inevitably faced with some tough roster choices to make their 53-man roster, but these five cuts were nevertheless a little surprising.

During the first season at the helm of the San Francisco 49ers back in 2017, head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch said on the Brick by Brick series that there were "so many tough choices" when it came to making roster cuts.

That was an all-out rebuild year for the Niners, one that accompanied the overhaul of roughly 70 percent of the inherited roster.

Now, entering 2023, San Francisco is a perennial Super Bowl contender, meaning those "tough choices" were going to be even tougher. Considering the 49ers had awfully few holes on their roster heading into the new year, there were going to be plenty of starting-caliber players who were ultimately let go by Shanahan and Lynch as part of the league's final cut-downs ahead of Week 1.

The Niners have made those roster moves, including placing some players on season-ending injured reserve right out of the gate.

That said, these five cuts were pretty shocking. One can only hope these moves don't come back and haunt San Francisco anytime soon.

49ers shocking roster cut No. 1: Defensive back D'Shawn Jamison

Undrafted free agents always have a tougher road to a 53-man roster, but UDFA D'Shawn Jamison certainly made an impression during his short time with the 49ers, both during training camp and in the preseason.

Those efforts weren't enough to earn a spot with the Niners' regular-season squad, and Shanahan pointed out how much he wished Jamison would still be with the team in some capacity:

Instead, Jamison was claimed by the Carolina Panthers and will have a shot at contributing there sooner than he likely would have with San Francisco.

Even though the 49ers have some serious question marks within their secondary.