Niners Nation
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke about the 53-man roster on Wednesday afternoon. Let’s discuss the injury updates and signings.
John Lynch said wide receiver Russell Gage will be on the 53-man roster and on the practice field Wednesday afternoon. Gage will join Ricky Pearsall and Skyy Moore.
Shanahan said he’s “optimistic” that starters Ben Bartch and Dominick Puni will return by Week 1:
“We’re hoping so. I guess I would say that would be trending in the right direction. We won’t know that until next week. We got Bartch back out on Monday’s practice. So we’re on course for that. And hoping to get Puni out sometime next week, if not Monday, hopefully Wednesday. But he’s looking good in his rehab, and it’s looking positive so far.”
The 49ers kept Drew Moss, Connor Colby, and Matt Hennessy as the backups along the interior.
Edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos is “possible” for Week 1. Here’s what Shanahan said:
We expect him to get out there and start practicing next week. We’ve been working him out like he’s going to play Week 1. Hopefully that’ll continue and he’ll be out there on Sunday.
The depth at edge rusher consists of Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Bryce Huff, Sam Okuayinonu, and Robert Beal. Williams will bounce back and forth from defensive end to defensive tackle. Gross-Matos’s health is more important than fans realize, given the presence of all the rookies on the defensive line.
Lynch spoke about the current state of the 49ers’ defensive line:
There’s a lot of change to it, but we like the group. I think they’ve all gotten better throughout camp. Bosa’s Bosa. He’s gonna be Bosa. Mykel started off really good. Had a great offseason. Then got nicked in training camp, as did C.J. West. They’ve both done a nice job.
Alfred Collins, we’re really happy and proud of the efforts he’s put forth. He’s really improving as he’s getting his legs underneath him.
Sam O, making great contributions. Bryce Huff has really shown his value to us. I think when you throw it all together, Beal in that group as well, as you throw that whole group together, there’s a lot to like.
We did claim a guy from Jacksonville, Jordan Jefferson, today. We felt like that was an opportunity to upgrade our group. A guy we’ve liked way back to his college days at LSU. When you put the whole group together, there’s versatility, guys who can rush outside and rush inside. It’ll be a fun group to work with.
Shanahan feels that undrafted free agent Sebastian Valdez and every member of the practice squad are part of the team. Valdez didn’t make the 53-man roster due to a numbers game:
Sometimes we go with four guys inside. Sometimes with five. We usually go nine as a group. We went 11, and finding out we can get another from another roster....
