There were a handful of head-scratching decisions the San Francisco 49ers made in creating their opening 53-man roster over the weekend.
One of them, retaining their final pick from the 2026 NFL Draft, offensive tackle Enrique Cruz Jr., was among the puzzling ones.
Cruz was one of nine offensive linemen retained for the regular-season crop. This, despite having an awfully rough camp that revealed the fifth-round draftee is nothing more than an extreme developmental project right now.
It might've been wiser for the Niners to waive him, recognizing his tape likely wouldn't convince any of the 31 other clubs to claim him, then San Francisco could've stashed him on the practice squad for further development.
Instead, Cruz is safe. But he certainly can't feel good about why, nor can he get comfortable with his status.
49ers' Enrique Cruz roster decision isn't for the best of reasons
San Francisco lost two of its better swing-tackle candidates to injured-reserve designations, Brett Toth and Austen Pleasants, the latter with a designation to return. And with veteran backup tackle Vederian Lowe still out with an injury, Cruz might've effectively been the final option.
That probably won't prompt a lot of confidence from the rookie.
It gets more complicated, too, especially with Pleasants and Lowe poised to return at some point. While the former is already heading to IR, and the latter may, too, over the next day or so, either Lowe or Pleasants' return from an injury list might mean Cruz gets the boot from the roster.
Perhaps the Niners merely punted on the final Cruz decision, knowing they have some time before either of the two older pros return from injury. Yet that's not the best of endorsements for Cruz.
The 49ers understand they have to invest a lot more time developing the first-year pro, and even though he made the original 53-man roster, at best, he'd be a gameday inactive on a week-to-week basis. And it might've been a better idea to stash him on the practice squad while saving that roster spot for a bigger need.
For now, Cruz is safe. But he likely won't be happy with the reasons why.
Add us as a preferred source on Google