San Francisco 49ers: Looking at the Potential Future Roster Cuts

The San Francisco 49ers have finalized their first round roster cuts, getting down to 75 players, in preparation for their preseason finale against the San Diego Chargers.

Those two final roster cuts came in not long ago, and one brought a punch to the gut. Jason Fanaika came in as an undrafted free agent at outside linebacker. He seemed like one of the undrafted guys who had an outside shot at making the team. However, competing against Ahmad Brooks, and soon Aaron Lynch, coupled with his weight and lack of speed and agility, proved too big a hurdle to overcome.

More from San Francisco 49ers

Ellington was sidelined with a hamstring injury on Friday, now reported as a torn hamstring. He has been placed on injured reserve, but that will be a considerable hit to the wide receiver list. With Bryce Treggs already down with a knee injury and Eric Rogers placed on the injured reserve earlier, losing Ellington isn’t going to help matters.

The 49ers will eventually need to whittle down to the final 53-man roster. Here’s a look at who is in danger of getting chopped in the next round of roster cuts:

Quarterback – Christian Ponder, Jeff Driskel. Both Ponder and Driskel showed some serious promise through this preseason. However, neither played against a full strength starting defense. Additionally, there is a strong likelihood that Chip Kelly chooses two stick with two quarterbacks, and sign one to the practice squad.

Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Running Back – Kelvin Taylor. The team will most likely carry four running backs, Carlos Hyde, Shuan Draughn, Mike Davis, and DuJuan Harris. This leaves Taylor the odd man out. There is a possibility for Taylor to make the practice squad, but don’t expect to see him on the field this year.

Wide Receiver – Ryan Whalen, Devon Cajuste, Dres Anderson. As nice as it would be to see Cajuste, a local undrafted free agent from Stanford, on the final roster, his speed off the line might just be his downfall. However, with Ellington now on injured reserve, there is an outside chance that Anderson remains on the final team.

Tight End – Je’Ron Hamm. The Niners picked Hamm up for the final game of last season from the Washington Redskins due to another TE injury. He lacks size, strength, and quickness and is likely competing for a practice squad spot.

Offensive Line – Norman Price, Alex Balducci, Colin Kelly. The 49ers will hold onto about eight or nine offensive linemen going into the season. Although question marks still linger about who will play where, there is simply a lot of competition at this spot. Balducci previously played on the defensive line, and was unable make a quick enough transition to offensive line. Kelly showed some talent in the CFL, but got lost in such a large group.

Defensive Line – Demetrius Cherry, B.J. McBryde. The Green Bay Packers waived McBryde and San Francisco signed him. Although he has tremendous size for the position, it hasn’t seemed to translate to on field productivity. Cherry was an undrafted free agent and lacks some athletic ability. With additions like DeForest Buckner and Ronald Blair, there are too many bodies ahead of these two to have a good shot at the final cut.

Outside Linebacker –Corey Lemonier. Lemonier is a bubble guy. It appeared that Marcus Rush and he were competing for a final roster spot. Rush had a tremendous game against the Denver Broncos, and that might just be enough to bump Lemonier off the list.

Next: Kaepernick Stirs Fiery, Yet Hypocritical Debate

Inside Linebacker – Shayne Skov. Skov played with the 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squads before moving up to special teams. After an injury, Skov was not able to regain his speed or strong lateral mobility and will likely not capture one of the ILB spots.

The 49ers’ preseason has already proved to be a bumpy one. With injuries piling up and lineups constantly changing, it will be interesting to see which 20 plus players get the boot before the first season game.