Analyzing 49ers' initial 53-man roster for 2026, and what moves will come next

The 49ers traded for a backup center and made all the other necessary roster moves Sunday to arrive at a starting point for the regular season.San Francisco settled on 53 players by the deadline. But they are certainly not finished, as was foreshadowed with their roster gymnastics that left them with neither a punter nor a long snapper. LS Jon Weeks AND P Corless Waitman were both released. This appears to be something similar that they did last year with Thomas Morstead. They can be expected to re-sign them tomorrow and make room for them with a couple players being placed on IR/designated for return. — Matt Maiocco (&commat;MaioccoNBCS) August 30, 2026 The 49ers will bring back players at those spots as they piece together the group that boards the plane to Australia on Wednesday to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 on Thursday, Sept. 10. Here is the breakdown of the 49ers’ initial 53-man roster:Quarterback (3)Brock Purdy Mac Jones Kurtis Rourke Rourke showed enough before he sustained cracked ribs in the preseason opener. The 49ers could not take the chance of losing Rourke to the NFL’s waiver system because he appears to be in line to be the top backup to Purdy next season . . . assuming Jones signs elsewhere for a potential starting opportunity.Running back (4)Christian McCaffrey Kyle Juszczyk Kaelon Black Jordan James The 49ers usually keep five running backs, but they feel good about the four within this group. Black and James demonstrated that they are capable of giving McCaffrey more-frequent periods of rest this season. The 49ers placed running back Isaac Guerendo on reserve/physically unable to perform. He must miss at least the first four games of the season. Veteran Khalil Herbert was one of the 49ers’ final cuts, and he could be brought back due to his value on special teams.Wide receiver (6)Mike Evans Deebo Samuel De’Zhaun Stribling Demarcus Robinson Jordan Watkins Jacob Cowing Evans, Samuel and Stribling are clearly the 49ers’ top three. Robinson will probably slot into the action as their fourth receiver. Cowing earned his spot due to his experience fielding punts. He handled those chores in 2024 before sitting out all of last season with hamstring issues. Watkins won a spot with a solid camp. Veteran Christian Kirk (calf) begins the season on injured reserve, so that gives him plenty of time to get healthy and, potentially, make an impact later in the season. Tight end (4) George Kittle Luke Farrell Jake Tonges Brayden Willis Kittle returned to practice last week, and he is expected to do more this week before the 49ers depart. The big question is whether he will be on that flight to Melbourne. Kittle continues to make great progress from a torn Achilles tendon, which he sustained in January. If Kittle does not play, Tonges would take over as the starter. Farrell is the blocking specialist. Willis, who sustained a concussion in the 49ers’ final preseason game, earned a spot with a solid training camp. Offensive line (9) Trent Williams Jake Brendel Dominick Puni Colton McKivitz Carver Willis Connor Colby Vederian Lowe Enrique Cruz Jarrett Patterson The 49ers swung a trade with the Houston Texans to acquire Patterson to serve as the backup center. The 49ers sent a 2027 seventh-round draft pick to Houston in exchange for Patterson. Austen Pleasants (knee) was designated to return from injured reserve. Meanwhile, neither Brett Toth nor Nick Zakelj will be back. Both were placed on season-ending IR. Lowe sustained a high-ankle sprain on the first day of camp. He should be ready to serve as the backup swing tackle early in the season. Cruz, a fifth-round pick who has all the measurables, is being groomed for the future. Willis appears likely to open the season as the starting left guard. Colby made the team over veteran Robert Jones, who was released. Defensive line (9) Nick Bosa Osa Odighizuwa Alfred Collins Romello Height Keion White Sam Okuayinonu CJ West Gracen Halton James Thompson Jr. Thompson, an undrafted rookie from Illinois, won a spot at defensive tackle over Bryson Eason and Sebastian Valdez. Veteran Ogbo Okoronkwo also made a strong push and could be brought back. Bosa’s status for Week 1 is a little uncertain. He participated only in individual work when training camp opened. Bosa has been sidelined due to tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee. Linebacker (7) Fred Warner Dre Greenlaw Jaden Dugger Tatum Bethune Garret Wallow Luke Gifford Nick Martin Dugger, a rookie, showed a lot of potential and could be in line for a significant role in the defense, along with Warner and Greenlaw. Martin sustained a hamstring injury in the second preseason game, and it is likely he will go on injured reserve on Monday. He is expected to be back toward the middle of the season. Wallow and Gifford figure to be core special-teams contributors. Five days ago, the 49ers traded for veteran linebacker Deion Jones from the New Orleans Saints. They released him just five days later. Cornerback (6) Deommodore Lenoir Renardo Green Upton Stout Jack Jones Ephesians Prysock Nate Hobbs One of the tough calls for the 49ers had to be the decision to waive Darrell Luter Jr., who might get claimed by one of the other 31 teams on Monday. Green has missed time recently with a hamstring injury, but Jones has put himself into position to be a starter in the meantime. Hobbs has a groin injury that could land him on injured reserve as early as Monday. He is expected to return and make a contribution before the end of the season. Safety (4) Malik Mustapha Ji’Ayir Brown Marquis Sigle Siran Neal Mustapha’s status for early in the season is in question due to a hamstring injury he sustained early in training camp. Brown and Sigle are most-likely to start in Week 1. Some of that uncertainty at safety could lead the 49ers to immediately bring back Ashtyn Davis, a vested veteran who is not subject to the waiver system. Specialist (1) Eddy Piñeiro No, the 49ers did not forget that a punter and long snapper are kind of necessary in American football. It was all part of San Francisco’s plan to get under the 53-man limit while keeping some injured players eligible for later in the season. The 49ers released punter Corliss Waitman and long snapper Jon Weeks. But those two players are not going anywhere. They will be back in the building on Monday once the 49ers transfer a couple players from the 53-man roster to injured reserve/designated for return. Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

Analyzing 49ers’ initial 53-man roster for 2026, and what moves will come next

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