With the 49ers wrapping up their rookie minicamp this weekend, it’s time for my first 53-man roster projection, with practice squad, injured lists, & reserve lists.
OFFENSE:
QB(3): 13 Brock Purdy(2025), 10 Mac Jones(2026), & 14 Tanner Mordecai(2025)
RB(4): 23 Christian McCaffrey(2027), 31 Isaac Guerendo(2027), 29 Jordan James(2028), & 49 Corey Kiner(2027)
FB(1): 44 Kyle Juszcyzk(2026)
WR(5): 15 Jauan Jennings(2025), 1 Ricky Pearsall(2027), 19 Jacob Cowing(2027), 17 Jordan Watkins(2028), & 86 Junior Bergen(2028)
TE(3): 85 George Kittle(2029), 89 Luke Farrell(2027), & 82 Ross Dwelley(2025)
C(2): 64 Jake Brendel(2026), & 61 Matt Hennessy(2025)
LG(2): 78 Ben Bartch(2025), & 75 Connor Colby(2028)
RG(2): 77 Dominick Puni(2027), & 74 Spencer Burford(2025)
LT(2): 71 Trent Williams(2026), & — D.J. Humphries(2025)
RT(1): 68 Colton McKivitz(2025)
DEFENSE:
DE(5): 97 Nick Bosa(2028), 98 Mykel Williams(2028), 94 Yetur Gross-Matos(2025), 91 Sam Okuayinonu(2025), & 51 Robert Beal Jr.(2026)
DT(2): 99 Alfred Collins(2028), & 90 Kevin Givens(2025)
NT(2): 50 C.J. West(2028), & 69 Evan Anderson(2025)
WLB(2): 45 Nick Martin(2028), & 57 Luke Gifford(2025)
MLB(1): 54 Fred Warner(2026)
SLB(2): 53 Dee Winters(2026), & 48 Tatum Bethune(2027)
CB(6): 2 Deommodore Lenoir(2029), 0 Renardo Green(2027), — Tre Brown(2025), 20 Upton Stout(2028), 33 Siran Neal(2026), & 28 Darrell Luter Jr.(2026)
FS(3): 27 Ji’Ayir Brown(2026), 36 Marques Sigle(2028), & 25 Jason Pinnock(2025)
SS(2): 24 Richie Grant(2025), & 30 George Odum(2026)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
PK(1): 4 Jake Moody(2026)
P(1): 3 Mitch Wishnowsky(2026)
LS(1): 46 Jon Weeks(2025)
PUP:
WR 11 Brandon Aiyuk(2028)
SS 6 Malik Mustapha(2027)
INJURED RESERVE:
QB 4 Kurtis Rourke(2028)
CB 35 Tre Tomlinson(2026)
SUSPENDED:
WR 5 Demarcus Robinson(2026)
PRACTICE SQUAD:
RB 32 Patrick Taylor Jr.*
WR 81 Trent Taylor*
WR 84 Russell Gage Jr.*
WR 14 Isaiah Neyor
WR 83 Terique Owens
TE 88 Jake Tonges
TE 9 Brayden Willis
C 66 Drake Nugent
RG 55 Drew Moss
LT — Andre Dillard*
LT 67 Isaac Alarcón**
RT — Nicholas Petit-Frere*
DE 58 Alex Barrett
DT 65 Sebastian Valdez
NT 93 Kalia Davis
MLB 36 Curtis Robinson*
CB 49 Jakob Robinson
With this roster, the 49ers would have 75 players signed for the 2025 season, account for $213,334,052, along with a $91,935,649 dead money hit, total of $305,269,701, putting them $36,191,181 under their $341,460,882 adjusted salary cap, but this doesn’t include D.J. Humphries cap number, as he’s yet to be officially signed.
Below are my reasonings for each position, and why I chose who I chose for the 53-man roster.
At quarterback I went with 3, as the only way to have an emergency 3rd QB is for the player to be on the 53-man roster, and we all know Purdy will get a huge extension very soon, they signed Mac Jones to be the #2 QB, which left just Mordecai or Rourke, who is coming off a knee injury, so I have them going with Mordecai, with Rourke on IR.
At running back & fullback I went with 5, the obvious ones being Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo, & Kyle Juszcyzk, while I like the upside of both rookies Jordan James, & Corey Kiner, while I have Patrick Taylor Jr. on the practice squad as one of the 6 veteran with more than 2 accrued seasons.
At wide receiver, I went with 5, obviously Jauan Jennings & Ricky Persall will start, with Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, & Junior Bergen being the reserve wide outs, with Brandon Aiyuk on PUP to begin 2025, and Demarcus Robinson likely to be suspended for 3 games, if not, then I’d likely keep 1 less player on defense.
At tight end I went with the obvious 3, George Kittle, Luke Farrell, & Ross Dwelley, with Dwelley being the 3rd TE beating out both Jake Tonges, & Brayden Willis, both I have on the teams practice squad.
On the offensive line, I went with 9, starting should be Brendel, Puni, Bartch, Williams, & McKivitz, with Hennessy being the backup C/G, Burford as backup at both G spots, D.J. Humphries as the swing Tackle, and I like the upside of Connor Colby, hopefully he can end up being the teams left guard in 2026, and hopefully they don’t cut him like they did with Jarrett Kingston.
On the defensive line, I have 9 total players, with Bosa, Williams, Gross-Matos, Okuayinonu, & Beal on the edge, and Collins, West, Givens, & Anderson inside, so this unit should be much better than last year, both pass rushing & stopping the run, if the 49ers want a veteran, they could keep Jordan Elliott, but for now I’m moving off from him.
When it comes to the linebacker, I went with the most obvious 5, Warner, & Martin start, with Winters being the 3rd LB, Bethune, & special teams ace Gifford round out the group, but I can see Curtis Robinson, who I have on the practice squad, making the team as a 6th LB.
In the defensive backfield, it’s going to be Lenoir, Green, Brown, Stout, Neal, & Luter at cornerback, and Brown, Grant, Sigle, Pinnock & Odum at safety, I went heavy here, as the 49ers guaranteed $1 million to Odum, while Neal signed a 2-year deal that has over $2 million fully guaranteed, the rest are obvious locks in my eyes.
And special teams wise, I have the obvious 3, as there’s only 3 on the roster, so Moody at place kicker, Wishnowsky at punter, and Weeks as the teams new long snapper.
I have to let everyone know that this is my first of most likely many projections I have over the next 3 months.
With that said, I thank you for reading, and follow me on X/Twitter @49erscap, & on Blue Sky App @49erscap.bsky.social.
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