The San Francisco 49ers got to their initial 53-man roster by Sunday afternoon, but the work was not finished. Kyle Shanahan’s team made the first wave of San Francisco 49ers roster cuts before the 3 p.m. PT deadline, then added another move by finalizing a trade for Patterson after releasing Jones, with more transactions still expected on Monday.
That is the key point here: the 49ers have their opening roster shape, but they have not stopped adjusting it. With injuries affecting several spots and some players likely to move on and off the roster again, this was a cutdown day that felt more like a checkpoint than a finish line.
What the 49ers have done so far
Before Sunday’s deadline, the 49ers could place only two players on injured reserve with a designation to return. That restriction shaped the way the roster was built, especially for players dealing with injury issues. The team is also managing broken ribs, a pectoral tear and lingering concussion symptoms, which added another layer of complexity to the process.
One of the most notable injury situations is Guerendo. In the spring, he suffered a pectoral tear, and after Week 2 he can resume practicing. For at least the first four games of the season, though, he must remain out.
Rourke is another player whose status remains part of the wider picture. Kyle Shanahan said Rourke could resume practicing this week, which suggests there is still movement to come as the 49ers work through the last stages of roster management.
More changes are expected on Monday
The Sunday cutdown did not close the door on further business. On Monday, Waitman and Weeks were expected to sign back on, while starting Monday the 49ers could make more injured reserve moves. That means the initial 53-man roster may not look the same for long.
That is often how these cutdowns go when a team is balancing immediate availability against longer-term planning. The 49ers have already shown they are willing to keep adjusting, and the next set of decisions will likely be tied to health, practice squad movement and how the club wants to cover key areas heading into Week 1 and beyond.
For now, the headline is simple enough: the San Francisco 49ers roster cuts have taken the team down to 53, but the roster is still being tinkered with after the deadline. The next round of moves on Monday should tell us more about how Shanahan wants to set the opening version of the team.
