The San Francisco 49ers won’t have to make any final roster cuts until after their preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
This year is unique for the 49ers since they have a slew of roster spots that are yet to be spoken for. That’s particularly true on the defensive side of the ball where a couple of starting jobs are among the stack of available roster spots.
Defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen on Wednesday in his press conference actually offered some insight into his thinking on the 53-man roster.
New practice squad rules allow teams to keep veterans around on an expanded 15-man unit. Sorensen said the new rules push teams to favor younger players over veterans when it comes to final cuts.
“Oh, it makes a huge difference,” Sorensen said. “It wasn’t too long ago you only had five practice squad players and there were so many limitations on that. The standard elevations now that you can do with players and how many times you can do it, I think it’s smart because back in the day or even in those days not too long ago, you would play through injuries. You wouldn’t report them or you would just play through them. Where now it’s you can be smarter because you can standard elevate guys. You’ve got guys that are in your program that you’re developing, the 16 and six of them are veterans, which I think also extends the careers of these guys that all feel like you could play longer if you just had a chance that you could hang around.”
This is noteworthy at a handful of positions. At linebacker a player like Curtis Robinson may now fall into a bucket where he’s let go at final cuts in hopes of returning him to the practice squad. Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin may have the same fate. The same may go on the other side of the ball for offensive linemen Chris Hubbard and Brandon Parker. Wide receivers Chris Conley and Trent Taylor may fall into that mix as well.
San Francisco may decide to roster some of those veterans, but Sorensen gave some clarity on how the 49ers defense could ultimately shake out at those hotly-contested positions. That philosophy may permeate to the other side of the ball as well.
Don’t be shocked if at final cuts some capable veterans are let go in favor of younger players. The practice squad provides an opening for those vets to return, and the 49ers appear ready to take full advantage of that.