4 veterans who won't be on 49ers roster come Week 1
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers have to part ways with starting-caliber veterans as part of roster cuts, meaning these four veterans won't make the 53-man roster.
Back in 2017, then first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan was looking for nearly any way to improve the San Francisco 49ers' 53-man roster after what had been a 2-14 finish the season before.
Part of that involved turning over roughly 70 percent of the roster he inherited. Two years later, the Niners were in the Super Bowl, suggesting Shanahan's efforts worked.
Now, entering 2023, San Francisco is a powerhouse team and one that could perennially contend for a Lombardi Trophy for the foreseeable future. With so many household names and superstars, it's inevitable that some quality veterans who are currently present on the 49ers' 90-man offseason roster won't be carried onto the regular-season group of 53.
These four, in particular, could probably start on other teams but won't find themselves even serving a depth role for the Niners by the time Week 1 rolls around.
No. 4: 49ers wide receiver Willie Snead
There would have been a time not too long ago when San Francisco fans would have been stoked about wide receiver Willie Snead being on the roster.
Going back to his heyday years with the New Orleans Saints in the second half of the 2010s, Snead was a viable No. 2 option for most teams.
Those days have since gone, however.
Snead has found something of a niche role with the 49ers, though, bouncing on and off the practice squad and regular-season roster last year, but there's going to be little room for him to do so again in 2023 unless the Niners are hit with a rash of injuries at the position.
San Francisco already has a wide receiver room consisting of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Ray-Ray McCloud, who are all but guaranteed roster spots. With rookie Ronnie Bell and second-year pro Danny Gray desperately looking to claw out spots, Snead seems like the has-been commodity.
He might return in some capacity, but he won't be on the roster come Week 1.