The 49ers might have their eye on some players released by teams at Tuesday’s 1:00pm Pacific Time deadline for final cuts. Given the team’s lack of certainty and depth at a couple spots it wouldn’t be crazy if they went scouring the waiver wire.
However, that may not be something they’ll necessarily be able to rely on given where they rank in the waiver wire pecking order.
The waiver order is set via the NFL draft order without any trades. Since the 49ers lost in the NFC championship game last season, they landed at No. 29 in the waiver order.
That means if they put a claim on a player, 28 other teams would need to pass on that player for San Francisco to be awarded that claim.
A more likely way they’ll bolster their own roster is either via free agency or waiting until the dust settles on waiver claims. There’s a strong chance San Francisco’s eyes on the waiver wire will linger more on their own players they’re hoping to sneak through without another team claiming them.
The deadline for waiver claims is 9:00am Pacific Time on Wednesday. After that any player who clears waivers is a free agent, and that’s when we can anticipate the 49ers being more active in shoring up their roster and building their practice squad.