Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Wednesday, August 28th, 2024
Hutchinson: 49ers roster cuts takeaways: What to make of surprise moves
“Jake Tonges played incredibly well in camp, and deserved a roster spot. But keeping two tight ends is a pretty big surprise for San Francisco. Eric Saubert had a very solid camp himself and is an impressive blocker. Brayden Willis and Cam Latu are too unreliable and found themselves cut. At some point, Saubert or someone else will be back in the fold.”
“For the first time I can remember in the Shanahan/Lynch era, their defensive secondary talent and depth is close to or even equivalent to the talent and depth of the 49ers’ defensive line. This is not on purpose, by the way. Shanahan and Lynch always believe that defensive line is the most important position to acquire and accumulate premium talent. But Arik Armstead wouldn’t take a pay cut, so they released him last spring. Drake Jackson hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Javon Kinlaw was a bust. We don’t know how Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott will do in their first years with the 49ers. They’ve got Bosa, but they’ve got less top-level talent around him than usual.
Meanwhile, the 49ers have four solid corners (Ward, Lenoir, Isaac Yiadom and Green) and four solid safeties (Brown, Hufanga, Mustapha and George Odum). I can’t remember the last time when the 49ers went eight deep in the secondary without getting to a questionable name. And if you count some of the depth on the corners, they could go to nine or 10 deep with this backfield group.”
Maiocco’s 49ers 53-man roster breakdown: Hufanga a welcome sight
“Okuayinonu was under the radar during training camp, but his versatility landed him a spot on the initial 53-man roster.”
“The biggest surprise of the day came when the 49ers waived both Latu and Willis. Tonges, who was on the practice squad last season, usurped the pair of second-year tight ends. Although Latu was clearly improving, the 49ers couldn’t justify keeping him instead of a more polished player. Aside from being a consistent receiver throughout camp, Tonges filled in as the fullback on some of Juszczyk’s veteran days off. He executed more cleanly in that role than Willis, who missed an early block at fullback in Las Vegas. It’d be wise to not read too much into the release of Saubert, who’d been the No. 2 tight end behind Kittle throughout camp and preseason. The 49ers will likely re-sign him and possibly Thomas after they clear a pair of roster spots with moves to injured reserve Wednesday. That’s why the team has only two tight ends when four is its usual number.”
San Francisco 49ers put RB Elijah Mitchell on IR, out for season
“A source told ESPN on Tuesday evening that Mitchell suffered another, more severe hamstring injury this week. That injury is believed to have happened during the team’s practice on Monday when Mitchell was in uniform and participated in individual drills but did not take part in any of the team periods.”
Womack, Gray, Latu among 49ers’ five draft picks cut at NFL roster deadline (paywall)
“In an unexpected move, the 49ers placed running back Elijah Mitchell on season-ending injured reserve. Mitchell returned to practice last week after he missed much of training camp with a hamstring injury. It was the latest injury related setback for Mitchell, who has played in just 27 of a possible 51 career games. Mitchell, a 2021 sixth-round pick who owns the franchise’s rookie rushing record, is in the final year of his contract and could have played his final game with the 49ers.”
Why Young believes Aiyuk, 49ers can mend ‘strained’ relationship
“It’s been a back-and-forth. I don’t know. They can get it mended,” Young said. “It’s not like there are broken relationships. But it’s stitched. It’s strained. And I think at the end of the day, Brandon’s now sitting in front of a contract that the 49ers probably have stretched as much as they can.
“They don’t want to set the market. They don’t want to do it. They don’t think it’s the time.”
49ers 2024 Practice Squad Tracker: WR Tay Martin Plans to Sign
“NFL teams can officially sign players to their practice squads starting Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT, which is also the deadline for claiming players off waivers.”
We know more about quarterbacks’ arms than ever. Can NFL teams take advantage? (paywall)
“Biomechanics-specific motion capture technology has proven useful in injury prevention and recovery. Ferree often sees quarterbacks try to “protect their elbow” as they return to throwing after a significant arm surgery (such as the UCL repair Purdy underwent in 2023, when he worked with Gormley and Hewlett throughout the recovery process). Their rotation changes — which has a ripple effect on the rest of their body.
“They just really aren’t efficient in their throwing motion,” Ferree said, “Motion capture in the rehab process can be huge because it allows you to track their arm path and basically tailor their throwing program to make sure they’re coming back as efficiently and as well as possible.”
The technology can also help quantify fatigue. Biomechanics experts can now see exactly when a thrower begins to wear down because they can measure micro changes in their transfer of energy. From there, experts can plan the quarterback’s ideal workload through the course of a practice week.”