The San Francisco 49ers have set their 53-man roster, and in Santa Clara, it’s a young man’s game.
It is no secret that the 49ers are undergoing a rebuild and when one is rebuilding, it’s good to start young. The Niners will have 14 rookies on their roster this season, five of them undrafted free agents.
“We drafted these guys, so we believe in them,” said general manager John Lynch. “The free agents we felt really good about. I think it’s more indicative that we feel we had a really good draft. Time will tell. They made a 53-man roster: Now they have to go play.”
Many were surprised by the release of wide receiver Jeremy Kerley, whose contract was extended this spring, but Lynch said rookie Trent Taylor proved he was the man for the slot – literally and figuratively.
“That was a tough call,” Lynch said of Kerley’s release. “…[O]nce we saw that Trent could handle it, and handle it right away, we said it was going to be hard at that point for Jeremy to make the roster.”
Rookie C.J. Beathard won the backup quarterback job, leading to Matt Barkley’s release yesterday, while Beathard’s former teammate at the University of Iowa, George Kittle will be the team’s starting tight end.
Fourth-round pick Joe Williams will go on season-ending IR due to an ankle injury, and second-year offensive lineman Joshua Garnett will do the same with a knee injury.
Times they are a-changing, and it should be very much for the better. We will know for sure in just about a week when the Carolina Panthers come to Levi’s Stadium. Go Niners!
You can view the full roster here and get to know many of the rookies better with 5 Fun Facts here!