The Injury Bug Returns As 49ers’ Make First Roster Cuts
Aug 16, 2022, 1:37 PM | Updated: 3:09 pm
SANTA CLARA, CA - AUGUST 12: Marcelino McCrary-Ball #40 of the San Francisco 49ers returns an interception during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on August 12, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Packers 28-21. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
Following the team’s first preseason win over the Green Bay Packers Friday night, the San Francisco 49ers only took one day off before hitting the practice Sunday and Monday.
The Bay Area team got some light work in over the previous two days, as injuries have already started to set in for this squad. Starting cornerbacks Emmanuel Moseley and Charvarius Ward have been out for a week or so due to different leg strains, defensive lineman Arik Armstead is out due to a MCL sprain, and now starting safety Jimmie Ward could miss week 1 of the regular season due to a hamstring strain.
“Yeah, it was a pretty bad hamstring injury and it’s not like the other two guys, so we’ll see over here over the next couple weeks how it plays out,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.
The offensive side of the ball has been more fortunate, only sustaining two hamstring injuries to starting running back Elijah Mitchell and offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill. Both are expected back for the start of the regular season. The number of soft-tissue injuries has troubled Shanahan, commenting on the slew of issues that have befell the team to start the season.
“Not really. No,” Shanahan said about the various soft tissue injuries. “It’s kind of been bothersome to me. I think they’ve all come after our days off. I think it’s been a real challenge of this camp, more than any we’ve been in with just how it’s spaced out with these games and our day off rules and to really get in a groove for guys. Once you get about two days in, they’re getting a day off, sometimes two days off. So I think our biggest challenge has been these off days, how to come back from them if you look at the three who’ve had them.”
The 49ers’ injury list also includes defensive linemen Hassan Ridgeway (quadriceps) and Drake Jackson (shoulder stinger), and linebacker Curtis Robinson (groin). The linemen returned to practice Sunday, while Robinson will likely be out another week.
49ers Roster Cuts
Shanahan and the coaching staff also made the first round of cuts Monday as teams trim the roster to 85 men entering week 2 of the preseason.
The most surprising cut was former starting slot corner Darqueze Dennard. The 49ers made the move following rookie nickel-back Samuel Womack III’s stellar performance in the first preseason game, coming up with two INTs on QB Jordan Love.
“He’s doing a good job. He is definitely a candidate. He’s got a chance to earn that spot and from what it looked like just out there live, it looked like he didn’t hurt himself,” Shanahan said after Friday’s win regarding Womack.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 16, only Qwuantrezz Knight serves as the alternate at the position.
Other cuts include FB Josh Hokit, WR Keesean Johnson and DL Tomasi Laulile. The 49ers made the final cut to 85 on Tuesday, dropping DL Robert Nkemdiche.
So the 49ers' first round of roster cuts is finished. It looks like this:
Darqueze Dennard, Robert Nkemdiche, Josh Hokit, KeeSean Johnson, Tomasi Laulile
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 16, 2022
The moves to cut two former starters in Nkemdiche and Dennard may be puzzling, but it speaks to the sheer talent that the Red & Gold have on the defensive side of the ball.
“Everybody is competing. And that’s everywhere, every position. Everybody is competing for a starting job. And everybody, like I said earlier, guys have to show us. They have to earn the right to go out there with our group. And everybody is in that same boat,” defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said Sunday.
