49ers’ 53-man roster reveal: Hufanga activated, Mitchell out for season
SANTA CLARA — All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga is eligible to make his 49ers comeback when their season starts Sept. 9.
Yet to practice on his surgically repaired knee, Hufanga was activated off the Physically Unable To Perform list, rather than be forced to miss the first four games on PUP.
Tuesday’s roster moves weren’t as good for running back Elijah Mitchell, whose hamstring led to a season-ending Injured Reserve assignment. Defensive tackle Kalia Davis (knee) also went on Injured Reserve but was designated for potential return this season, as is the case with linebacker Dre Greenlaw starting the season on PUP.
Among Tuesday’s cuts were tight ends Eric Saubert, Logan Thomas, Cam Latu, Brayden Willis and Mason Pline, leaving only George Kittle from that crew with roster underdog Jake Tonges, a Los Gatos native and Cal product who joined the 49ers’ practice squad last season.
At quarterback, the 49ers supplied two backups to Brock Purdy, those being Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs while waiving undrafted rookie Tanner Mordecai.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is on the 53-man roster, but with his status cloudy because of a contract staredown, the 49ers kept six other receivers: Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Chris Conley, Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing and Ronnie Bell.
Left tackle Trent Williams does not count on the roster because he’s been on the Reserve/Did Not Report list since the start of training camp. Still, the 49ers kept only two other pure tackles: Jaylon Moore (Williams’ placeholder) and right tackle Colton McKivitz.
As for Hufanga, the 2022 All-Pro gained medical clearance Aug. 15 to ramp up his comeback. He has looked spry in individual conditioning on side fields, but he has remained out of team-related drills and instead observed practices as a vocal leader throughout training camp.
Options to start alongside second-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown are special teams ace George Odum, rookie fourth-round pick Malik Mustapha, and former Detroit Lions starter Tracy Walker III. Odum took the majority of first-team reps and started the first two preseason games before an ankle injury Friday scratched him from the preseason finale at Las Vegas as well as Monday’s practice.
Hufanga sustained his non-contact anterior cruciate ligament tear in the 49ers’ Nov. 19 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Three months ago, Hufanga said his goal was to ease into training camp and “trying to be smart with it. … Being patient is a big part of this process, for sure.”
Here are the players who were released:
- OL Ben Bartch
- WR Robbie Chosen
- OL Chris Hubbard
- DL T.Y. McGill Jr.
- OL Brandon Parker
- TE Eric Saubert
- WR Trent Taylor
- TE Logan Thomas
- S Tracy Walker III
- DL Nick Williams
- CB Rock Ya-Sin
And here are the players who were waived:
- OL Isaac Alarcon
- DL Evan Anderson
- DL Alex Barrett
- DL Shakel Brown
- DL Jonathan Garvin
- LB Jalen Graham
- WR Danny Gray
- OL Sebastian Gutierrez
- OL Jarrett Kingston
- TE Cameron Latu
- CB Chase Lucas
- S Jaylen Mahoney
- WR Tay Martin
- QB Tanner Mordecai
- OL Drake Nugent
- TE Mason Pline
- RB Cody Schrader
- TE Brayden Willis
- CB Samuel Womack III