After advancing to the NFC title game in each of the past two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers are once again considered one of the NFL‘s elite teams — even though we’re not entirely sure who will be starting at quarterback in Week 1. Brock Purdy’s recovery from a torn UCL is just one of several factors the 49ers will consider as they formulate their initial roster.
Let’s run through San Francisco’s current 90-man roster and determine how they’ll get down to 53 players before cutdown day.
Projecting the San Francisco 49ers’ 2023 Roster and Depth Chart
Quarterback
- In: Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, Trey Lance
- Out: Brandon Allen
The 49ers’ quarterback dilemma may not end up being much of a dilemma at all, especially if Purdy is ready for Week 1. He’s been throwing since the end of May, and San Francisco has expressed nothing but optimism that he’ll be available for the start of the regular season.
Meanwhile, recent reporting has indicated Darnold has the edge over Lance to become Purdy’s backup. Lance was the subject of trade rumors over the offseason, but the 49ers apparently couldn’t find an offer they were willing to accept. If San Francisco manages to find a taker for Lance over the summer, Allen — who backed up Joe Burrow in each of the past three seasons — could make the club as QB3.
Running Back
- In: Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price, Kyle Juszczyk
- Out: Ronald Awatt, Jack Colletto, Khalan Laborn
The 49ers’ running back depth chart is relatively cut and dry. McCaffrey will take all the work he can handle, while Mitchell is a more-than-capable No. 2. Mason has flashed when given the opportunity, while both and Davis-Price will have special teams responsibilities. San Francisco could drop down to three RBs and cut Davis-Price if they need to add bodies at another position, but that seems unlikely right now.
Wide Receiver
- In: Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud, Danny Gray
- Out: Ronnie Bell, Chris Conley, Tay Martin, Dazz Newsome, Willie Snead, Isaiah Winstead
San Francisco’s wide receiver depth chart remains unchanged from last season. Samuel, Aiyuk, and Jennings return as the top three options in the receiving game, while McCloud was the only 49er to handle a kick or punt return in 2022.
Gray could bring another dimension to San Francisco’s offense with his speed, but he hardly made an impact (seven targets, one reception) after being selected in the third round of last year’s draft. He probably won’t face a real threat for Bell (a rookie seventh-rounder), Snead, or Conley, but the 49ers could stash two of those three on the practice squad.
Tight End
- In: George Kittle, Cameron Latu, Ross Dwelley, Brayden Willis
- Out: Troy Fumagalli, Charlie Woerner
The 49ers drafted two tight ends this year, adding Latu in the third round and Willis in the seventh. They’ve been searching for a complement to Kittle for several years, and both rookies should make the roster as San Francisco searches for development at the position.
While the 49ers will likely keep one veteran between Dwelley and Woerner, neither has shown much on the offensive side of the ball during their NFL careers. Woerner is three years younger, but Dwelley gets the edge because San Francisco gave him $700,000 guaranteed this offseason.
Offensive Line
- In: Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, Colton McKivitz, Jon Feliciano, Matt Pryor, Jaylon Moore, Nick Zakelj
- Out: Joey Fisher, Alfredo Guiterrez, Keith Ismael, Corey Luciano, Ilm Manning, Jason Poe, Leroy Watson
San Fran entered last season with three unproven starters — Banks, Brendel, and Burford — up front, and their offensive line combination largely worked out. They’ll try it again in 2023 when McKivitz is scheduled to replace the departed Mike McGlinchey at right tackle.
Feliciano could end up splitting snaps with Burford at right guard, while Pryor and Moore will compete to become the 49ers’ top swing tackle (although both should make the roster). San Francisco’s final offensive line spot will likely come down to Zakelj and Poe, with the loser headed to the taxi squad.
Defensive Tackle
- In: Arik Armstead, Javon Hargrave, Javon Kinlaw, Keith Givens, Kalia Davis
- Out: Marlon Davidson, T.Y. McGill, Spencer Waege
The 49ers struck early in free agency to bolster their interior defensive line by signing Hargrave to a four-year, $84 million contract. He’ll team with Armstead to give San Francisco one of the more dominant tackle duos in the NFL.
Kinlaw is on thin ice after the 49ers declined his fifth-year option for 2024. The former first-rounder will make the initial roster, but it’s a make-or-break season for Kinlaw as he searches for a second NFL contract. Meanwhile, McGill could push Davis for San Francisco’s DT5 role, but the 49ers’ coaching staff has been encouraged by Davis’ recovery from an ACL injury that forced him to miss his entire rookie season in 2022.
EDGE
- In: Nick Bosa, Drake Jackson, Clelin Ferrell, Kerry Hyder, Robert Beal Jr.
- Out: Alex Barrett, Austin Bryant, Darryl Johnson
The 49ers boast the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Bosa, but they have a lot of questions at their other EDGE spot after losing Charles Omenihu and Samson Ebukam to free agency.
Jackson, last year’s second-round pick, will be given the first crack at starting opposite Bosa, while the 49ers are hoping DL coach Kris Kocurek can get the most out of former Raiders first-rounder Clelin Ferrell. Bryant could potentially push Hyder for a roster spot this summer, but there isn’t much other drama here.
Linebacker
- In: Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Oren Burks, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
- Out: Curtis Robinson, Jalen Graham, Marcelino McCrary-Bell, Dee Winters
We’re projecting the 49ers to go light at linebacker, which is only possible because they have two of the most talented LBs in the league in their starting lineup. Burks is the favorite to take over for Azeez Al-Shaair in base sets, although Flannigan-Fowles — a special teams ace — could push him there.
Graham, McCrary-Bell, and Winters will all have a chance to fight Flannigan-Fowles for a roster spot during training camp, but the latter received $1.25 million guaranteed when he re-signed with the 49ers this offseason. If San Francisco ultimately keeps five linebackers, they’d have to find somewhere else to trim the fat (likely at tight end or in the defensive backfield).
Cornerback
- In: Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Isaiah Oliver, Samuel Womack III, Darrell Luter Jr.
- Out: D’Shawn Jamison, Qwuantrezz Knight, A.J. Parker, Tre Swilling, Ambry Thomas
Ward, Lenoir, and Oliver are locked in as the 49ers’ starters in nickel packages, while Womack will be a backup outside and in the slot. San Francisco turned to Thomas, a 2021 third-round pick, as a starter at the end of his rookie campaign but evidently lost faith last year as he played just 41 defensive snaps.
It will be tough to cut a player who was chosen 102nd overall just two years ago, and Thomas could work his way back onto the roster during training camp. But for now, Luter — whom the 49ers drafted in the fifth round this year — has the upper hand.
Safety
- In: Talanoa Hufanga, Tashaun Gipson, George Odum, Ji’Ayir Brown, Myles Hartsfield
- Out: Tayler Hawkins, Avery Young
Hufanga was a first-team All-Pro in his first season as a full-time starter and will again line up alongside Gipson in the 49ers’ secondary. Odum played the second-most special teams snaps on San Francisco’s roster last year, while third-round rookie Brown looks like Gipson’s long-term replacement in the back end.
Hartsfield’s spot on the 49ers is relatively tenuous — if the club decides it needs additional personnel at another position, he could be on the outs. But San Francisco signed Hartsfield in the opening days of free agency, meaning they’ll likely have a role in mind. As a Swiss Army knife capable of playing safety, slot, or in the box, Hartsfield could become a weapon for new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
Specialists
- In: Jake Moody (K), Mitch Wishnowsky (P), Taybor Pepper (LS)
- Out: Zane Gonzalez (K)
The 49ers acquired Gonzalez from the Panthers in March in a swap of late-round 2025 picks, but he’s now just a camp body after San Francisco used a third-round selection on Moody. Wishnowsky and Pepper won’t face any training camp competition for their roles after both earned contract extensions within the past nine months.