53 pick-up: A stab at the 49ers’ Saturday evening roster
Here’s my projection for the 49ers’ “initial” 53-man roster, which must be finalized by 1 p.m. Saturday. Explanations (a lot of them) below.
Quarterbacks (2)
- Colin Kaepernick
- Blaine Gabbert
- Frank Gore
- Bruce Miller
- Carlos Hyde
- LaMichael James
- Anquan Boldin
- Michael Crabtree
- Stevie Johnson
- Quinton Patton
- Bruce Ellington
- Vernon Davis
- Vance McDonald
- Derek Carrier
- Joe Staley
- Anthony Davis
- Mike Iupati
- Daniel Kilgore
- Joe Looney
- Jonathan Martin
- Adam Snyder
- Marcus Martin
- Carter Bykowski
- Justin Smith
- Ray McDonald
- Ian Williams
- Tank Carradine
- Quinton Dial
- Tony Jerod-Eddie
- Demarcus Dobbs
- Glenn Dorsey
- Patrick Willis
- Michael Wilhoite
- Chris Borland
- Nick Moody
- Ahmad Brooks
- Dan Skuta
- Corey Lemonier
- Aaron Lynch
- Tramaine Brock
- Chris Culliver
- Perrish Cox
- Chris Cook
- Dontae Johnson
- Darryl Morris
- Antoine Bethea
- Eric Reid
- Jimmie Ward
- Craig Dahl
- James McCray
- Phil Dawson
- Andy Lee
- Kevin McDermott
- QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson
- RB Glenn Winston
- NT Mike Purcell
- OL Dillon Farrell
- OL Michael Philipp
- TE Asante Cleveland
- LB Shayne Skov
- OLB Chase Thomas
- WR Lance Lewis
Other
Dorsey can’t go on injured reserve/return until Tuesday. When that happens, the 49ers will gain a roster spot. ... Veterans like Brandon Lloyd and Kassim Osgood will have their full salaries guaranteed if they are on the Week 1 roster. I expect Lloyd to make the team, perhaps not in Week 1. Osgood also has a good shot, just not in Week 1. ... I struggled most with C.J. Spillman, McCray, Acker and Dobbs. In the end, I went with McCray’s youth and potential at safety over Spillman’s special teams prowess. ... If I had to guess which players the 49ers might trade, Spillman and Dobbs would be at the top of my list.
This story was originally published August 29, 2014 at 10:06 AM with the headline "53 pick-up: A stab at the 49ers’ Saturday evening roster."