49ers Notebook: Nick Martin’s rapid improvement; Happy returns for Trey Lance, Jim Harbaugh; Brian Robinson’s role; Room for Jeff Wilson?

The preseason is in the books for the San Francisco 49ers, and now it's decision time.

Who will make the initial 53-man roster? Who will wind up on the practice squad, or on injured lists? All that needs to be decided by Tuesday. But regardless of what the 49ers do, Saturday night's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers may not be the final game in a 49ers uniform for those who don't make the roster.

"You spend all this time to figure out your 53, but it's like I tell our players -- the final 53 is never the final 53," head coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday.
"That's just the first week of the season. It changes throughout the year. We've got to pick out 53 here in a couple days. We've got to figure out our 16 practice squad guys. We've got to find out who's healthy, who's going to go on IR, who's going to be on PUP, things like that. So there's still a lot to work on. We'll make those decisions on Tuesday, but we're not going to stop making them as the year goes."

The running back position is where one particularly interesting decision will need to be made, and we'll get into that a bit in this version of 49ers Notebook. Plus we'll hear from linebacker Nick Martin after a second consecutive strong performance, we'll see what Trey Lance and Jim Harbaugh said about returning to Levi's Stadium, and more.

Could Jeff Wilson's 49ers reunion last a while?

Running back Jeff Wilson was a welcome addition to the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month while the team dealt with a number of injuries at the running back position. Wilson, who ran for 1,733 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first stint with the 49ers (2018-2022) before being traded to Miami, showed in the 30-23 win over the Chargers on Saturday night that he's still capable of helping the team, as he rushed for 41 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.

Will the 49ers keep Wilson around in at least a practice squad capacity past Tuesday? Might he even make the 53-man roster?

"Jeff's got a shot," Shanahan said Saturday. "Love Jeff. One of my favorite players over the years and it was great to get him back in here. I thought he's done a good job, thought he's gotten better each week just getting back into camp, and thought he made some good cuts tonight. He's definitely going to make it hard on us."

Wilson seems like he'd be more than happy to remain in the Bay, based on how joyful he appeared to be playing at Levi's Stadium again on Saturday night.

It seems likely the initial foursome on the roster will be Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo, rookie Jordan James, and the recently-acquired Brian Robinson Jr. But the 49ers have a history of needing extra running backs during the season, and with Guerendo and James dealing with recent injury issues, Wilson may yet come in handy during the regular season at some point.

Robinson's role

Speaking of Robinson, even though the trade bringing him to the 49ers from the Washington Commanders wasn't yet official as of Saturday, he seems set to have a significant role on the 49ers this season.

News of the 49ers agreeing to terms on a trade that would ship a sixth-round pick to Washington for Robinson surfaced on Friday. On Saturday, Shanahan spoke briefly about what the plans are for Robinson in San Francisco.

"We brought him here to be our two back," Shanahan said. "I've always been a big fan of Brian. Loved him coming out of college... We were pumped that he was available and we were pumped that we were able to get him."

Guerendo spoke to reporters about his new backfield mate, who had 2,329 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns along with 65 receptions for 587 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in three seasons with the Commanders.

"I think one thing about this team is they always bring in guys who are good fits for this environment and for this playstyle," Guerendo said. "So I'm assuming he's that way, granted we brought him in. I'm excited to have him as part of our room, especially with Bobby T (running backs coach Bobby Turner) leading us."

Nick Martin is getting better in a hurry

After looking a bit lost in his preseason debut, rookie linebacker Nick Martin was all over the field once again Saturday night, looking every bit like the Dre Greenlaw successor the 49ers hoped he'd be when they selected him in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Martin finished with eight tackles, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble against the Chargers, one week after making six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in a 22-19 win over the Raiders. Martin flew around the field on Saturday night, making impressive open field tackles on both defense and special teams.

Martin admitted last week that his head was spinning a bit in Week 1 of the preseason, but things have changed since then.

"I definitely feel like it's slowing down from the first game until now," Martin told reporters Saturday. "I feel like I'm growing a lot. I'm just excited for the journey and I'm excited to see what will be in a few weeks."

Shanahan commented on Martin's improvement, as well as what may lie ahead.

"We love guys who run and hit, but there's a lot more to football than just that," Shanahan said. "But that was the thing that we liked about him the most. We've seen him practice a lot, but I think you guys can also see you've seen in these three games that each game he's gotten better. There's been more of those clips and less mistakes. I think he's got a real high ceiling, and I love how he finished out camp. I love how he finished out today and expect him to get better and better as the year goes."

Time will tell if Martin is able to do those things on Sundays, but it was hard not to get excited about his progress on Saturday night.

"The guys are really taking me under their wing and I'm learning and growing each game," Martin said. "My main goal is to just getting better."

Terique's touchdown

One of the best moments of Saturday night's game was the late game touchdown pass to wide receiver Terique Owens, which was his first as a 49er after joining the team as an undrafted free agent last season.

Owens, who is the son of 49ers legend Terrell Owens, did not make the 53-man roster last year after sustaining a broken hand in training camp. He rejoined the team as part of the practice squad, then was able to stay healthy this year before hauling in his first touchdown on Saturday.

Owens spoke to reporters about his touchdown after the game.

"That's big," Owens said. "Obviously last year I got hurt, didn't get the opportunity to play during the preseason, came back, was on practice squad. So I wasn't really getting all of the details, like plays and stuff like that. I'd kind of get mental reps. During OTAs I was able to pick up the offense a little bit better, able to process things a lot better. Obviously the preseason, that was my time to go out there, just let it all out and just play. Obviously I got results."

Hopefully Owens will get another chance to score a touchdown in the future, this time with his father in attendance.

"He's going to try to make it out to more games. He's a busy guy, so he's got a lot of stuff going on," Owens said. "We always talk. He's going to try to make it out to some games. He's talked about just always put my head down, keep working. That's all I do."

Many happy returns

Even without TO, Saturday's game against the Chargers served as a reunion of sorts for the 49ers. Former 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman was on the opposite sidelines as a linebackers coach, while former 49ers running back and current club advisor Frank Gore was in attendance as well. But the two former 49ers who got the most attention on Saturday were Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Trey Lance.

Harbaugh, who was seen catching up with Gore before the game, had nothing but positive things to say about his time with the 49ers, as he has in the past. He spoke with reporters Saturday about his final game with the 49ers, a 20-17 win at Levi's Stadium against the Cardinals in 2014.

"I got the game ball. I still have it. I remember that," Harbaugh said. "I remember the 2013 game at Candlestick, the last one there. Navarro Bowman ran it down the sideline. I was like a pig in slop. I was the happiest I've been. A lot of top 10 type of things happened in my life here."

Things may not have ended on a high note for Harbaugh and 49ers owner Jed York in 2014, but the relationship has gotten better since then.

"We've had a lot of conversations and Jed and the York family have been great," Harbaugh said. "I sat next to John [York] at the owner's meetings. It's great seeing Kyle here. You know, we've had a lot of good conversations. Jed gave me a really good recommendation to Chargers owners when I got this job. So, it's all good. I love being here and it's been a blessing. The entire organization, the Spanos family and everybody that I work with in the organization. So if you're wondering how I'm doing, I'm A plus plus. There are big and great days and challenges ahead. So as you might suspect, I'm attacking them with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. "

Harbaugh obviously hopes he returns to Levi's Stadium at the end of the 2025 season for Super Bowl LX.

"Finding that game is special, but to do it here, to come, to this place? Yes," Harbaugh said. "It's what we and everybody in the locker room and everybody in the organization is working for to the level of do it or die trying. That's where we're at."

Meanwhile, Lance landed with the Chargers after his stint with the Dallas Cowboys, which came after the 49ers traded him away in 2023 following the emergence of Brock Purdy. The 49ers planned on Lance being their franchise quarterback after trading three first-round draft picks to select him third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, but Lance didn't pan out as expected, while Purdy, of course, turned out to be much better than expected.

Lance, who heads into the 2025 season as the likely backup to Justin Herbert, had nothing but positive things to say about the 49ers on Saturday night.

"I'm a firm believer in everything works out exactly how it's supposed to," Lance said. "That's just how the plan was. That's how it was written for me. I'm unbelievably thankful for my time here at San Francisco, for Kyle [Shanahan], for [San Francisco 49ers General Manager] John [Lynch]. It was open and honest throughout my time here. That's all you can ask for."

Lance started Saturday night's game and completed 5-of-8 passes for 31 yards before being pulled in the first quarter.

"It was fun. I wish we could've got more draw on offense," Lance said. "I wish we came out with a win. But it's fun. It's always fun. I approach it like any other game. I would've liked to come out with a win. There were some good things, some bad. I learned a lot from it. It's fun to compete with these guys, especially in this last preseason game. We'll see how it goes after this. Who knows what it'll look like. It was fun. It's always fun to get to see these guys over here too."