The San Francisco 49ers continue to be a team to watch in the NFC and have some tough decisions to make when trimming their roster to 53 players
Last year, the San Francisco 49ers were just a couple of plays away from making it to the Super Bowl for the second time in the Kyle Shanahan era. In fact, they may have been just one play away as a dropped ball that would have been an interception by Jaquiski Tartt would have stopped the Los Angeles Rams dead in their tracks.
Looking ahead to the 2022 season, the Niners are hopeful they will get another crack at the big game — and they have a shot thanks to their talented roster. Here, we look at their current makeup and pick three players who might not be able to crack the top 53 this year.
49ers cut candidate No. 3: Maurice Hurst, DT
Maurice Hurst was a standout for the Michigan Wolverines but a heart condition damaged his draft stock in 2018. The Las Vegas Raiders (who were still in Oakland at the time) ended up taking him in Round 5 and he proved right away to be worth the pick.
Hurst had four sacks as a rookie and another 3.5 in his second season. However, his usage continued to slip and before the 2021 season, he was waived by the Raiders. He then landed with the Niners but due to an injury, he played in just two games all season.
He did re-sign with San Franciso in March but there’s no guarantee he makes the team. Right now, the defensive tackle group consists of Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, and Hassan Ridgeway. There’s also Kerry Hyder, Jr. and Charles Omenihu on the team and they can both play defensive end and defensive tackle.
With all those options, Hurst could find himself on the outside looking in when cuts are made.
49ers cut candidate No. 2: Jeff Wilson, Jr., RB
One thing that stands out about the San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan is their ability to use just about any running back and have success. His run schemes are brilliant and allow for a multitude of players to perform well, and in 2020 it looked as though Jeff Wilson, Jr. was going to end up taking full advantage of this.
An undrafted kid from North Texas, Wilson was in his third NFL season and had 126 rushing attempts that season. He made the most of them, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, finishing with 600 yards and seven touchdowns. For good measure, he added 133 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver for them.
But in 2021, his numbers dipped. Wilson ran it 79 times for 294 yards with two touchdowns while rookie Elijah Mitchell took over as the top back. A sixth-round pick from Louisiana, Mitchell had 963 on the ground, 137 through the air, and six total touchdowns.
Looking ahead, the job is Mitchell’s to lose but he has competition in Tyrion Davis-Price, a third-round pick from LSU. There’s also Trey Sermon who was a Round 3 pick in 2021 as well as Jamycal Hasty on the depth chart.
In the end, there could be too many options for the 49ers, which could lead to Wilson looking for a new home in 2022.
49ers cut candidate No. 1: Dee Ford, EDGE
A former first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2014 out of Auburn, Dee Ford came into the league with some high expectations. It looked as though he was going to meet those as he had 10 sacks for the Chiefs in 2016 and 13 in 2018 — he was injured for much of 2017.
Following his first Pro Bowl campaign with Kansas City, he was traded to San Francisco ahead of the 2019 season. Once there, Ford agreed to a five-year contract worth $87.5 million.
Again, he had some injury issues, missing five games that year. Even so, he flashed his talent, recording 6.5 sacks while starting only two games and playing in 11.
Since then, things have gone south. Ford missed all but one game in 2020 and played in just six last season. In those seven games, he had a total of eight tackles and three sacks. In all, he has 22 tackles and 9.5 sacks in three seasons for San Francisco.
That’s nowhere close to what they expected when they sent Kansas City a second-round pick for his services.
The Niners have been holding out hope he can bounce back, but it’s likely time to move on. They won’t save a lot of money ($1.1 million in savings with $5.8 million in dead money) but it’s better to save a little, especially if they’re getting next to nothing in return.