San Francisco 49ers: Top 3 most surprising developments from roster cuts
By Justin Fried
2. Surprising changes are made at linebacker
The 49ers have worked hard to revamp their linebacker core in an effort to relive the glory days of San Francisco linebackers with Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman roaming the middle of the defense.
And last season was a step in the right direction as third-round pick Fred Warner emerged as a true star on defense leading the team in tackles at the end of the season. On top of that, the team signed Kwon Alexander in the offseason to further solidify the unit.
But the team’s third starting linebacker remained up in the air going into the summer.
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Veteran Malcolm Smith remained the incumbent starter but he was released earlier in the week following a disappointing training camp and preseason. That left a few different players as possible starting candidates.
Now, following a few surprise cuts, the clear front-runner for the job is 2019 fifth-round pick Dre Greenlaw. Greenlaw has reportedly been impressive all summer and has done enough to warrant a look with the starters in the base 4-3 defense.
The surprising release of returning role player Elijah Lee — who started five games with the team last year — pretty much assures Greenlaw a starting spot.
San Francisco also made the surprising decision to release core special teamer David Mayo who was due over $1 million in guaranteed money. Instead, the 49ers opted to roll with the undrafted rookie Azeez Al-Shaahir as the final linebacker on the roster.
Lee’s absence likely signals a bigger role for Greenlaw while the same could be said for Mayo’s departure with Al-Shaahir. And at the end of the day, both moves were ultimately pretty surprising.