The San Francisco 49ers named their initial 53-man roster for the season on August 30, 2026, leaving the squad at 52 players while making notable cuts to special teams and placing key contributors on injured and reserve lists.
Roster Gymnastics Leave San Francisco One Player Short
The San Francisco 49ers submitted their initial 53-man roster on August 30, 2026, but finished the cutdown deadline carrying only 52 players, according to reports detailing the initial 2026 roster moves. That open spot serves as a placeholder for veteran offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson, whom the 49ers acquired in a trade according to reports. There’s no official deal there yet, so it’ll be 52 players until that trade goes through and Patterson is on the roster. From there the 49ers will have some work to do to clean up around the edges of their roster before the season opener.
The offensive line room saw significant maneuvering alongside the Patterson acquisition. The Patterson trade is being chalked up as a depth signing, but he has more experience than Carver Willis and has spent multiple seasons playing in the Niners’ scheme under Bobby Slowik. San Francisco’s roster moves did nothing to answer who’ll be the starting left guard. Rookie Carver Willis is the frontrunner for the starting job, though the team will give Patterson a look as a starter if they feel like Willis isn’t ready. Even if he is, Patterson is an option down the line. The other question was what the 49ers would do with Connor Colby and Enrique Cruz. Vederian Lowe’s health could’ve potentially sealed Cruz’s fate, while the same is true for Brett Toth and Colby. Toth will begin the season on the IR.
Special Teams Shakeup and Quarterback Decisions
In one of the more surprising quirks of the roster deadline, the 49ers cut their only long snapper and punter. Jon Weeks and Corliss Waitman are both vested veterans who are now unrestricted free agents and are all but certain to be back with the 49ers. Still, it was funny to see that duo included in the 49ers’ list of cuts at Sunday’s deadline.
At quarterback, the team opted to keep three players on the active roster: Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, and Kurtis Rourke. The only question here was what the team would do with Rourke. Would he be stashed on the Injured Reserve, or make the roster? That question was answered. Rourke was healthy enough to make the roster. Kurtis Rourke, a 2025 seventh-round pick who missed all of last season while recovering from offseason ACL surgery, looked good in Week 1 of the preseason before suffering broken ribs that knocked him out of the final two exhibition matchups. The 49ers didn’t want to risk losing him on waivers so he stuck on the 53-man roster. He figures to be the emergency third QB this season.
Rookies Make the Cut as Roster Depth Takes Shape
Every member of the 49ers’ 2026 draft class made the roster, as did undrafted rookie defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. It’s not a huge surprise every draft pick made it, but there were definitely questions about how they’d operate with cornerback Ephesians Prysock nursing a shoulder injury and offensive lineman Enrique Cruz Jr. looking like a developmental project. Prysock could still be headed for IR, he just wasn’t placed there as one of their early return designations. As for Cruz, expect him to be inactive for much of this season as the team works on potentially getting him to a level where he could be a starter over the next season or two.
Running backs Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James, and Kyle Juszczyk made up the four running backs selected. With Isaac Guerendo landing on the PUP and the top three backs returning to practice, there were no real surprises as to who made the roster. It’s worth noting that the 49ers had Jordan James covering punts and kicks in the preseason finale. Kaelon Black did not play special teams, which is a sign he’s the RB2, if there was ever any doubt.
The wide receiver room kept six players: Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, De’Zhaun Stribling, Jacob Cowing, Demarcus Robinson, and Jordan Watkins. Cowing secured a job with an 83-yard punt return in Week 2 of the preseason. The next question was whether Jordan Watkins would stay and whether Christian Kirk would become an IR stash. The 49ers kept Watkins and Cowing. At tight end, George Kittle, Luke Farrell, Jake Tonges, and Brayden Willis were kept.
The offensive line group features Trent Williams, Carver Willis, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz, Jarrett Patterson, Vederian Lowe, Enrique Cruz Jr., and Connor Colby. The defensive line carries nine players: Nick Bosa, Osa Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins, Sam Okuayinonu, Romello Height, Gracen Halton, CJ West, Keion White, and James Thompson Jr. The first two names on this list are going to do a lot of the heavy lifting this season for the 49ers.
Worth a look
