After a disappointing 2024 campaign, the San Francisco 49ers went through sweeping roster changes this offseason.
Facing a financial cliff, general manager John Lynch and the front office had to make difficult decisions to revamp the team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. As a result, key contributors like Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga, Leonard Floyd, and Dre Greenlaw left in free agency.
This opens up more opportunities for the players who have been lower on the pecking order in San Francisco. One of those players is Darrell Luter Jr. However, the 25-year-old cornerback heading into his third year in the NFL isn't exactly setting the world on fire, per The Athletic's Matt Barrows.
In his latest mailbag piece, Barrows reported that Luter Jr. wasn't available in Wednesday's minicamp session and was underwhelming in his previous offseason showings.
"Luter? He didn’t make much of a splash in the practices open to reporters. In fact, I didn’t see him at all in Wednesday’s session."Matt Barrows, The Athletic
49ers CB Darrell Luter Jr. Is on Thin Ice After Underwhelming OTAs
This is not an ideal development for a young player hoping to see an expanded role after struggling with injuries in his first two seasons in the NFL.
After spending time on the injured reserve in both of his years, Luter only appeared in 10 games for the 49ers, almost exclusively on special teams. With the offseason departures, however, many had hoped that the former fifth-round pick would emerge as the CB3 behind Renardo Green and Deommodore Lenoir to begin the season.
Luter's chances of making the 53-man roster are still good; however, reports out of San Francisco indicate that he is behind offseason acquisition Tre Brown in the rotation.
With rookie Upton Stout and newcomer Siran Neal taking most of the snaps at the slot, it's hard to see where Luter fits in. Unless he bounces back in training camp, Luter may not find the opportunities he was looking for with the 49ers.