The San Francisco 49ers have their 53-man roster and 16-player practice squad after days of deliberation and tough decisions. Despite inevitably losing some players to the waiver wire, the team's decision makers are heading confidently towards Week 1 with the group they've spent the entire offseason and summer constructing.
"There were only a couple of discussions where there wasn't much (spirited discussion over players)," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "It's on how to keep guys on your roster for the whole year, Week 1, and there's certain ways to do that. It's a gamble with everything... We lost a couple (guys we wanted) but I also felt good with the number of ones we retained."
General manager John Lynch echoed that satisfaction with the current state of the roster.
"We're really happy with our 53-man roster and where it sits," Lynch said. "(We're also) really proud of the process... Kyle (Shanahan) and I sat down with every player we released or moved to our practice squad, and we're really proud of the organization for handling a tough deal.
"It's tough on those players. They put their heart and soul into it. It doesn't work out for every one of them, but we also let these guys know this isn't our final 53. It's our 53 right now."
There's already been a few changes to the initial roster from Tuesday's cutdown deadline with wide receiver Danny Gray and defensive lineman Robert Beal Jr. being place placed on the Injured Reserve list and the signing of defensive linemen Kerry Hyder Jr. and Austin Bryant.
According to Shanahan, another roster move could be coming as the team continues the search for a practice squad kicker. The addition will likely only be for the short term with third round pick Jake Moody trending in the right direction after suffering a right quad strain last week.
"(The kicker situation) is still fluid. We'll most likely have one by the end of the weekend," Shanahan said. "I am encouraged with how he's been this week."
Scaling Back For Now
In this final week before the official start of the regular season, both veteran tight end George Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy are scaling back. For Kittle, that means taking some practice days off, likely until Monday, as he deals with some "lingering" issues that cost him some time earlier in the preseason.
As for Purdy, this is a designated "deload week," according to Lynch, and will involve half the rep count for San Francisco's starting quarterback as he's seen in previous weeks. The second-year pro was medically cleared to rejoin his team on the field in time for training camp after suffering a season-ending elbow injury in the NFC Championship Game.
Purdy steadily shed pitch count restrictions over the course of training camp and played in two of the 49ers three preseason contests.
"This is all part of the previous plan, this week was going to be set up for a 'let's freshen it back up,' and give him the opportunity to go into the season as fresh as he can be," Lynch said. "I'm thrilled with Brock, thrilled with our staff and all the people that helped him in his excellent recovery.
"This is another step in that. The great news is, I don't have a crystal ball, but I'd imagine he'll go into next week feeling a lot better because the volume was reduced on him this week, and it's all part of the plan."
