The 49ers enter their preseason finale Thursday in Houston with a slew of wrinkles to iron out as they prepare to trim their 80-man roster down to the 53 players they think will help them win a Super Bowl.
Some of those decisions will be easy and perhaps have already been made. Others will require the coaching staff to pore every possible rep to make sure they’re picking the right players and ordering them correctly when it comes time to make a depth chart. Those reps will include the final preseason contest where roster spots and starting jobs could ultimately be won.
Here are seven players who, for various reasons, need to show out vs. the Texans:
RB Trey Sermon
Sermon looks a little better than he did as a rookie, but overall he’s put together a lackluster preseason that was hampered in part by an ankle injury prior to the 49ers’ second preseason game. He has 11 carries for 19 yards in two exhibitions. There’s a real chance the 2021 third-round pick gets cut unless he flashes with a couple of more powerful, decisive runs in Houston.
OT Colton McKivitz
McKivitz isn’t necessarily fighting for a roster spot. He’s likely to make the club. On the other hand, he could win himself a swing tackle role and perhaps a starting job if right tackle Mike McGlinchey’s knee injury affects him into the regular season. If McKivitz can play well with the starters against the Texans he could play his way into a significant role on San Francisco’s offensive line. The 49ers would also like to see their 2020 fifth-round pick become a real contributor because depth is an issue for them up front.
OL Aaron Banks
We can pencil in Banks for a roster spot, but perhaps wait on putting him down for a starting job. The 2021 second-round pick didn’t play much offensively in Year 1, and he’s held onto the starting left guard job for all of the 2022 offseason. Now he’s being pushed by undrafted rookie Jason Poe (more on him later), and a bad outing against Houston could force the 49ers’ coaching staff to make some changes up front as they continue their quest to find their five best offensive linemen.
S Tarvarius Moore
Moore is all but guaranteed a roster spot, and it looks like the starting strong safety job will go to second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga. Free safety Jimmie Ward could miss the start of the regular season with a hamstring injury though which opens up a starting spot. Moore should be the favorite to be the team’s Week 1 starter at his natural FS position. Some struggles in the preseason opener and then a full four quarters of action vs. the Vikings are a sign that he at least needs more reps in his return from a torn Achilles last June. We’ll likely see him get a lot of work in Houston, and if he plays well, he should be the starting free safety in Chicago.
WR Malik Turner
Turner staked his claim to a roster spot with a couple big plays against the Vikings. One was a tough third-down catch in traffic. The other, and more important one, was a forced fumble on a punt return. Special teams is where Turner’s path to the roster will come and he’s the frontrunner to grab the final wide receiver spot if the 49ers keep six at that position. Another good game against Houston could cement his spot as the sixth WR.
RB Jordan Mason
Mason, despite a good preseason showing, is on the roster bubble going into the third preseason game. The undrafted rookie from Georgia Tech may simply fall victim to a numbers crunch on the roster. There are definitely three RBs ahead of him with Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Tyrion Davis-Price. JaMycal Hasty is probably the frontrunner for the fourth RB job. It’s a possibility San Francisco keeps five and another roster spot opens. The only way they do that or perhaps put Mason over Hasty is if the 2022 UDFA has a huge game Thursday that makes him impossible to let go.
OL Jason Poe
The UDFA from Mercer has made waves over the last couple weeks of camp and earned reps at left guard with the first-team offensive line according to reporters on site at camp. Poe was once a long shot to make the roster, but now he looks like a favorite to the ninth offensive lineman. He should secure a roster spot with a good game vs. Houston, but he could also push for the starting job at LG if he plays well and Banks struggles. Watch for who Poe plays with and how well he plays, because it could wind up playing a role in the team’s starting offensive front Week 1 in Chicago.
