Saying that balancing out an NFL 53-man roster is a challenge is an understatement. You can never just pick the best 53 players. Everything is tied together. Keeping a promising player at one position might mean being short players at other positions.
The San Francisco 49ers have some tough decisions ahead. A good example is Jalen Hurd, who the team likes but has been injured a lot. That has reduced the receiver's opportunities to prove himself. A player's potential will only take him so far in the NFL. Do the 49ers want to gamble on Hurd's potential and risk losing out on another player who can contribute this season? What if Hurd can finally stay healthy and contribute?
The 49ers faced a tough scenario in 2019, Hurd's first NFL season. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne was on the roster bubble, and it looked like he wasn't going to make the team.
"You look at our draft picks that we had," Shanahan said Thursday. "At the time, I think Marquise (Goodwin) was starting. We had just drafted some guys. I mean, Bourne didn't have the best camp, and he was on the outside looking in."
Hurd's and Trent Taylor's injuries made it possible for Bourne to make the roster that year.
"But if everyone had been healthy, it would have been hard for Bourne to make the team," Shanahan continued. "But we kept him because a couple of guys were hurt. ... Damn, I'm glad I didn't cut Bourne Week 1 because he ended up being our most consistent guy for the following two years."
Hurd had a nice outing during Thursday's practice. However, Shanahan revealed that the third-year receiver, who has yet to take a regular-season snap, will not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. So Hurd's chances to prove himself may be running out. He is just one example of the many tough decisions looming for Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
"You only get 53," Shanahan explained. "And it's awesome when you get more on the practice squad, but that opens them up to everyone else. So if you are good at one position, yeah, you're going to try to keep them all, but that means you're going to go shorter in some other area.
"When I look back on it, that's probably why we lost Kaden Smith. We couldn't keep four tight ends. We tried to for one week, but we had too many receivers. Waiting for someone to come back, I wasn't ready to cut Bourne. It would have been one of the dumbest decisions we ever made.
"But we ended up losing Kaden, who was a real good player, because he wasn't quite ready. Levine (Toilolo) was more ready at that time, but we had too many roster spots. So we ended up trying to put him on the practice squad, you lose him to the Giants, and now he's a pretty good player."
Shanahan added that juggling an NFL roster is a lot more complicated than most realize. It's an intricate balancing act based on countless factors. That makes the preseason evaluation process very important.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes into it," Shanahan added.
