There is still time before the San Francisco 49ers have to finalize their 53-man roster prior to Week 1 of the regular season.
With another potentially strong NFL Draft class, the Niners still have a lot of talent on their roster despite a turbulent offseason that saw plenty of familiar names depart.
As such, trimming the names down will be hard for head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff.
Who might be a surprising cut by the 49ers?
Offensive lineman Trent Williams, defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner have the three biggest contracts for San Francisco. Those players are guaranteed to stick around given their cap hit and what they have brought to the Niners over the years.
San Francisco recently released safety George Odum. Players such as fullback Kyle Juszczyk and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson would be rather costly to cut at this time.
However, these two 49ers players make more sense.
1. Yetur Gross-Matos
Last year, Pro Football Focus called the Yetur Gross-Matos signing "a bit of a head-scratcher." The former Carolina Panthers defensive end agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal to join the Niners.
Despite already cutting defensive linemen Javon Hargrave, Leonard Floyd, and Maliek Collins earlier this offseason, San Francisco could still move on from Gross-Matos. Cutting the veteran could open up $7.8 million in cap space. And that might be the smarter move in light of the Niners' other offseason additions, namely drafting Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams in Round 1 last April before trading for former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff.
There is always the possibility the 49ers trade Gross-Matos. Beth Mishler-Elmore of Heavy.com suggests that "trading him would give the Niners more draft capital, which is a plus."
Potential trade partners could include the Chicago Bears or the Atlana Falcons, two teams that are also on the 49ers' schedule this year.
2. Jake Moody
There's a reason (or two) that San Francisco added kicker Greg Joseph to their depth chart at the same position embattled kicker Jake Moody plays.
Despite ranking 20th in the NFL with 104 points scored as a kicker, Moody's 70.6 percent from field goals ranked 39th in the league. The former Michigan Wolverine was one of the weak points on a dismal special teams crew in San Francisco despite being a third-round draftee back in 2023.
In 2024, Joseph bounced around three different teams. Between the New York Giants and Jets as well as the Washington Commanders, the veteran place kicker made 80 percent of his field goals and didn't miss a single extra point during the eight games he took the field.
If the 49ers give up on Moody, the former Minnesota Viking player is ready to take over and help a struggling special teams group in San Francisco.
Perhaps inevitable, it'd nevertheless be a shock to see the 49ers admit defeat on a specialist drafted so early.
All of this and other decisions will unfold as Tuesday, Aug. 27 (at 4 p.m. ET) is the deadline for NFL teams to reduce their rosters to 53 players.