The 49ers on Tuesday announced their initial 53-man roster, but they’re not done maneuvering or finalizing anything just yet.
While there’s a waiver claims process that’ll play out Wednesday, San Francisco isn’t liable to be active there given where they sit in the waiver priority. At 1:00pm Pacific Time though they can start moving players to IR, which will open up some roster spots.
Players who go on IR after initially making the 53-man roster can be given a return designation and make their way back to the active roster after at least four weeks. Teams are allowed to bring players back eight times during the season. Last year San Francisco ran out of return designations so they might be more diligent in their use of them this year.
Matt Barrows of the Athletic reported defensive end Austin Bryant and defensive lineman Kerry Hyder Jr. are expected to re-sign with San Francisco after bring released Tuesday, which means at least two players are likely to go on an injured list Wednesday afternoon.
There are four players who are candidates to go on IR to clear roster spots:
K Jake Moody (quad)
A wrench got thrown into the 49ers kicker plans when both Moody and Zane Gonzalez were hurt during the final week of the preseason. Moody, the 99th pick in this year’s draft, is dealing with a quad strain that could force him to miss the start of the regular season. If San Francisco isn’t confident that he’s healthy or that his injury may hamper him long-term, they could opt to place him on IR and keeping a healthy kicker on the roster until they’re confident in the rookie.
WR Ray-Ray McCloud (wrist)
McCloud broke his wrist during training camp. The eight-week timeline initially given by head coach Kyle Shanahan would’ve put McCloud on track to return around Week 4, making the receiver a prime IR candidate. Shanahan has since indicated McCloud may be able to return before then, but if they believe he’ll miss more than two or three games it’s easy to see him going on the injured list.
WR Danny Gray (shoulder)
Gray suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder during the preseason and a timeline for his return hasn’t been given, but Shanahan made it sound as though he could be out awhile. He’s in a similar boat to McCloud in that missing two or three games should keep him off an injured list, but if he’s going to creep into a range longer than that the team could put him on IR to open up a roster spot.
DE Robert Beal Jr. (hamstring)
Beal missed a lot of camp with a hamstring injury and didn’t get to play in any preseason action. Given his lack of work before the year it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the 49ers put him on IR and didn’t bring him back unless they had a need at defensive end.
