49ers Cut Candidates: Who Makes The 53-Man Roster?

And just like that, the preseason is over. After the San Francisco 49ers lost their preseason finale to the Houston Texans Thursday night, the team is now gearing up for the start of the regular season in Chicago.

But before they get there, the 49ers go through one more round of cuts, slimming the roster from 80 to 53 men. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers brass have some tough choices to make ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

“Yeah, it’s always hard, but it’s something you debate every year,” Shanahan said Tuesday after making their second round of cuts. “It’s something we’ll debate this year. It’s not always just the quarterbacks…it’s how it plays out with other positions.”

With a full slate of exhibition games behind us, let’s take a look at some of the players on the 49ers roster who could be cut Tuesday.

OL Justin Skule

Starting in the trenches, right tackle Justin Skule may have already sealed his fate against the Minnesota Vikings last Saturday. The former sixth-round pick out of Vanderbilt had a poor showing in Minnesota, allowing two pressures, a sack, and a false start penalty in limited action. The performance was so bad that even the media began to chime in.

Justin Skule gave up two sacks last week and just allowed the false start-pressure combo (D.J. Wonnum's spin move blasted by him) to kill the 49ers' drive.

At this point, I would assume SF trusts Jordan Mills more than Skule for that ninth O-line spot on the 53

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 20, 2022

We’ll get to backup RT Jordan Mills on another day, but if there was one player the 49ers to not make the roster, it’s probably Skule.

Despite posting a 94.3 run-block grade Saturday night, the fourth-year tackle was abysmal in pass protection, regular getting beaten by the Vikings’ backups. Thursday’s finale was another example of that, as the Texans had their way with the entire offensive line of 49ers, giving up sacks and pressures throughout the contest.

How PFF charted the damage allowed by the 49ers' offensive line last night — pressures allowed:

Spencer Burford: 3
Jaylon Moore: 2
Justin Skule: 2
Colton McKivitz: 1
Aaron Banks: 1
Jason Poe: 1

I mentioned last night Jake Brendel looked good — clean sheet (0 pressures) indeed

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 26, 2022

That’s not great.

With another poor showing on full display, expect a good portion of the offensive line, including Skule, to look for new homes by mid-week.

The Running Back Group

As NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco so eloquently put it this week: “If [Trey] Sermon were not a third-round pick a year ago, there probably would not be much of a conversation about his status.”

And he would be right.

The former Ohio State star running back, Sermon has been underwhelming since he was drafted. After dropping down the pecking order in his rookie season, many fans expected a resurgence from the Buckeye in Year 2. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

Sermon has mustered a measly 11 carries for 19 yards throughout the first two preseason contests. Yikes. In all fairness, his blockers have been second and third-stringers also vying for roster spots but you’d still like to see a former standout crush the exhibitions.

To make matters worse, rookie RBs Ty Davis-Price and Jordan Mason have flashed in the preseason, especially the latter, posting a PFF grade of 93.3, the highest among running backs in the preseason.

Don’t sleep on Jordan Mason 👀 pic.twitter.com/xkkrG5WCDE

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) August 21, 2022

Mason, an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech, signed with the Red & Gold because of similar running styles, preferring the one-cut approach that the 49ers tend to emphasize.

“This [team] just fit my running style, so I said, why not [join the team], let’s go!” Mason said.

San Francisco presumably has four running backs set going into the regular season: Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr., Ty Davis-Price, and JaMychal Hasty.

The team could opt to house a fifth RB on the roster but with fullback Kyle Juszczyk also in the building, the team is already loaded in the backfield.

Thursday’s game didn’t help any of the three halfbacks.

Sermon got the bulk of the work, finishing the night with eight carries for a mere 20 yards. Mason finished with seven yards on four carries, while Ty Davis-Price ended up in the negative, with four carries for -3 yards.

It’s possible Mason could make it through waivers and end up on the practice squad. Unless Sermon somehow convinced Shanahan and Co., it could be an early exit for the former Buckeye.

Second Line of Defensive Lineman

The deepest group on the 2022 49ers is the defensive line. That’s no secret. But what is a secret is who catches the flight to Chicago in week 1.

Currently, the 49ers have 14 D-Linemen on the roster. Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead are safe. So are youngsters Javon Kinlaw and Drake Jackson. So, where does that leave the remaining 10 men?

Samson Ebukam, Charles Omenihu, and Kemoko Turay should also be considered safe, performing well in practice and the preseason games. In fact, Turay has been one of the bigger standouts among the rushers, getting praise from Bosa last week.

Kemoko Turay deflection. He’s such a pro. Those run stops last week were impressive. You’ll see him more often on that type of edge action

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 21, 2022

“He’s shown that he plays our style of football and that’s he’s a game player. Not that he doesn’t show up in practice, but when the lights come on, he shows up even more,” Bosa said about his new teammate.

Expect fringe players Kevin Atkins, Alex Barrett, and Akeem Spence to not make the 53-man roster. The biggest question will be for the final roster spot if the team decides to go 10 players deep: Hassan Ridgeway or Kerry Hyder Jr.

Thursday’s game didn’t help anyone’s case, as neither player registered much against the Texans’ stout offensive line.

With Tuesday’s judgment day around the corner, could both players be on the outs? We’ll have to wait to see.

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