49ers announce final cuts

The 49ers just announced that they have released the following players:

Carter Bykowski, Asante Cleveland, Lance Lewis, Kevin McDermott, Darryl Morris, Al Netter, Lawrence Okoye, Kassim Osgood, Michael Philipp, Mike Purcell, Ryan Seymour, Shayne Skov,  Alfonso Smith, Adam Snyder, C.J. Spillman, Chase Thomas, Bubba Ventrone, L’Damian Washington and Glenn Winston

Which cuts surprise you the most?

This article has 73 Comments

  1. Not too surprised considering how crowded it is at CB but cutting Morris strikes me as a potential mistake. Played very well the last couple preseasons and he has good potential.

  2. McDermott, Snyder and Spillman.

    I’m surprised they went with Nelson at LS – they’ve had him here before and always gone a different direction. McDermott seemed to do pretty well last year.

    Keeping Farrell over Snyder (or Seymour) is surprising in that Farrell didn’t appear to be getting many reps until Marcus Martin went down, that I recall. Definitely a cost saving move, but a surprising one.

    Keeping McCray over Spillman (and Ventrone) is a move I like, but I’m surprised they went that way.

    I’m also a touch surprised they only ended up keeping 5 CBs on the active roster. With Acker to IR, they probably could have kept Morris.

    1. Scooter, what do you make of these moves on the OL position? Is that a good thing for Boone or not?

      1. The 49ers have freed up some more money under the cap with these moves, and the restructure of Ray McDonald. So they might be gearing up for another run at Boone to try and get him back in the fold.

        With Marcus Martin out for about 2 months, they only have 7 healthy OL, of which one didn’t play a snap in preseason (Anthony Davis), two are projected starters that have never been full time starters before (Kilgore and Looney), and one is an UDFA rookie who didn’t appear to get many snaps in preseason (Farrell). I’m not sure how comfortable the FO feel about that, but I’d be a little worried.

        1. The 49ers have freed up some more money under the cap with these moves, and the restructure of Ray McDonald. So they might be gearing up for another run at Boone to try and get him back in the fold.

          Or fixing to finalize an extension with Crabtree.

        2. I didn’t realize Ackers was injured. Can a team put a player on it without a physician approved season ending injury?

          1. Good question. He’s probably got some sort of injury, but I very much doubt it truly is season ending. He seemed to be moving pretty freely against the Texans.

          2. Found the answer. A player has to have a “major injury” resulting in that player missing at least 6 NFL games.
            To me it looks like SF is running its own red shirt program. I expect the league to claim tampering and investigate.
            I personally don’t like the move. Let the athlete play even if it’s not for SF. It appears the FO has gotten extremely shady.

        3. Thanks Scooter. It does look like that they are making a move to get Boone back. Is there a possibility that they are also looking outside the org to get some help in the OL position? Maybe even package a trade?

          1. You can bet the FO will be scouring the waiver wire today to see if there is anyone they like they can try and claim. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an OL brought in when Dorsey goes on IR, whether it be Boone, Snyder, Bykowski, Seymour or someone from outside the organisation.

  3. Wow! The Special Teams casualties were staple guys from last year! (i.e. McDermott, Osgood, Spillman, & Ventrone). I’m a little worried about the stability of the Special Teams unit. I mean we’re in a new stadium and we’re going to be working with a new Long Snapper!? I guess Nelson earned his way onto the roster!

    I hope Okoye ends up on the P-Squad. I doubt Winston makes it to the P-Squad, he played well enough to merit a tryout with another team.

    Let’s get this season started!!!

  4. The only one that surprises me is Daryl Morris. Johnson and Acker playing well made it a tough call, but with Acker going on IR I thought they would keep him.

    1. They probably thought they had a good shot to get Morris on the practice squad. Much better than say Aker. I think that is true. A player who was on the squad before is less likely to be picked off waivers than say a rookie. Teams might figure the rookie relatively has a bigger upside left.

  5. No real surprises here for me, except for Carter Bykowski. I thought he had developed well, and had earned a place in the 53. I guess that shows how much I know about these things….

    I hope they get him back, same with Winston.

  6. Surprised that Dahl made the team instead of one of Thomas/Morris/Winston. Dahl is putrid; please, can someone help me to understand this? Let me remind you that he was torched 2X this preseason and each time he entered a game last season. I believe they could have kept Morris and platooned Johnson/Ward/Culliver as a replacement safety and been better off.

    Also, one thing has become clear from this roster cutdown: Baalke’s draft strategy of taking 12 (11?) players instead of trading up to nab a couple of studs, coupled with the release of Snyder, Osgood, Spillman, and Ventrone, seems to indicate that this is a rebuilding season. Next offseason we will say goodbye to Brooks, Cowboy, Gore, and Ray McD.

    Youth movement afoot.

    1. Talk to Rockety Rocket about that draft strategy . We lose 4 key special teams guys. Let’s see how the rookies respond now.

  7. McDermott, Ventrone, Osgood, and Snyder surprised me. McDermott was excellent as the LS last season and cutting him could come back to haunt us.
    Osgood and Ventrone were key cogs on STs last season. I like the influx of youth into that unit, but I think that it will be an area of weakness unless they bring one or both back.
    Snyder surprised me because I figured that the team would keep him in case Looney or Kilgore faltered.
    I think the one that surprises me the most is who wasn’t cut: LaMichael James. He brought nothing to the run game despite his speed and looked horrible as a returner. He’s a liability with no current benefit in having on the team.

  8. question for Coach Harbaw:
    with or without Aldon Smith…
    plus or minus any of the gentlemen named above,
    you do understand that you must win
    the Super Bowl…?
    Failure to bring home Lombardi trophy #6 will
    jeopardize your prospects for being resigned.

    I am the Super Bowl monkey and
    I approve of this message.
    (I am solidly affixed to your back, fella….)

    1. Most normal people wouldn’t be happy comparing themselves to an animal that scratches unsanitary places or throws unsanitary things, but you’re nowhere near normal so….

  9. Osgood and Okoye.
    Okoye never established himself but he was always a hopeful long shot.

    Osgood is a terror on SP and may be back in a couple of weeks like last year.

    1. Okoye would appear to be a good candidate for the PS. I doubt any team will look to pick him up to be on their 53-man roster – he’s still not there yet.

  10. I like the direction these cuts take us in terms of getting younger and more cost-effective. However, I do worry about the state of our Special Teams after the cut-down. Spillman, specifically…though there was a decent savings with him off the books. (I’ll cross my fingers McCray picks up where CJ left off.)

    Snyder and Bykowski were surprising in the fact they both know the system, with the former having a lot of experience to add to an unstable OL.

    Aside from that, my biggest worry is losing Morris, Winston and/or Okoye to waivers.

    Curious to see who gets IR w/designation to return: Dorsey or Martin? And how/what they do to wiggle around with the eventual activation of Smith, Bowman, Dorsey/Martin, as well as possibly Acker and/or Lattimore.

      1. You may be right about Lattimore–only time will tell.

        As for our depth at RB, I’m not sure it’s there…at least not when looking past this year. Gore and Hyde are formidable, obviously, but who’s the change of pace back this season and eventual backup to Hyde the following year?

  11. On Tuesday won’t Dorsey and Martin be moved to some sort of injury list freeing up 2 more spots in the 53 man?

    1. Only one of them can be. Each team can only place one player on IR/ designated to return per year.

      1. I think he is. TB did that last year with the LB’s but it didn’t turn out so well. They may have been showcasing him in the last preseason game. Unfortunately they might not be able to work out the trade they anticipate.

  12. Apparently Acker has a foot injury and has been told to stay off it for an extended period. Who knows how true that is…

    1. Might be alot like Okoye’s serious case of “Happy Knee” he got last year.

      1. Lets just say I’m not expecting Acker to have any trouble walking to the training room table.

    2. Scooter,

      I can’t believe how cynical you’re being about this. He was told of his injury by Dr Harbaugh, with a second opinion from Dr Baalke.

      What more do you need?

      1. Actually, the injury keeping Acker on IR is to Trent. He has ‘I’ trouble:
        “I can’t see losing him on waivers!”
        I can almost hear him and Jim saying they weren’t going to give away two cb’s to other clubs for free. No way Acker or Morris were going to pass through.

  13. Kevin McDermott is by far my biggest surprise cut. He beat out Jennings past year. If Kyle Nelson gets hurt playing TE, who is the backup long snapper?

    Snyder is a mild surprise, but shouldn’t be.

    Biggest non cut-trade is LMJ. Hunter’s injury and Lattimore’s continuing knee issues kept LMJ on the roster.

  14. I missed something… when did Acker go down?

    I was thinking Seymour or Bykowski so Farrel is a big suprise, but obviously the coaching staff feels good about him. I think this also leads me to believe that they feel good about getting Boone back and didn’t want to tie up any more money than they had to.

    Ashame to see Morris go. And aftet all the talk i guess Lloyd did stay, i wonder if that means they dont feel thay great about patton or Sj.

    And i see Johnson’s still here. I just dont see that lasting too long. He could be the first one gone if we sign another.

    1. There’s been alot of subtle cap clearing activity the last few days, and again this morning… Osgood, Ventron, Snyder replaced by (slightly) cheaper rookies. One or two could return in a few weeks with lower contracts.

      Seems like the 49ers are fixing to going to sign somebody. Boone? Iupati? Crabs? A bone to Davis for showing up in camp?

  15. I asked Jim Harbaugh if Anthony Davis will play Week 1 and Harbaugh said, “We’ll see.”

    1. If Davis can’t play they will only have 6 OL available. I can’t see them going with only 6 OL suited up. They’ll sign another OL when Dorsey goes to IR.

    2. I’m happy we never get any vague, confusing statements from Harbaugh. I think he enjoys giving the CCCs (Cold, Cryptic and Creepy) whenever possible.

      I suppose he wants to keep Dallas guessing till the last moment.

  16. It’s also interesting to think about our “other” teams:

    JV (Will Not Play This Season)
    CB Kenneth Acker
    CB Keith Reaser
    FB Will Tukuafu
    RB Kendall Hunter
    WR Chuck Jacobs
    FB Trey Millard
    G Brandon Thomas
    OL Fou Fonoti

    … and …

    Reserve Team (Will/May Return)
    LB NaVorro Bowman
    OLB Aldon Smith
    DL Kaleb Ramsey
    TE Garrett Celek
    RB Marcus Lattimore
    G Alex Boone

    We saw what Acker can do; Reaser is Sean Taylor’s cousin and runs a 4.3 40 with 6′ frame and ball skills. We know what Hunter is about, and by all accounts Millard was the best H-Back/FB in the draft, while Thomas should be eligible to step in dominantly next season.

    Bowman and Smith are All-Pros, and Lattimore, if he regains his form, may dominate out of the backfield.

    I think the team will cut Skuta when Smith returns, and it will be interesting to see whether Moody or Wilhoite stays once Bowman returns.

    It’s sunny in Lake Tahoe.

    1. Nick i like this move because Daniels is a playmaker. And if anything he will greatly help us prepare defensively when we play them.

      1. They would never do that. They kept 3 qb’s on the roster- a no confidence sign for Gabbert. They were planning on two QB’s. Keeping Gabbert is mostly a face saving move just like keeping McCoy last season. They may still be trying to salvage something out of Gabbert although I cant think of what that might be.

  17. The only mild surprise for me is Snyder but im willing to take that as a rosy approach that they must feel good about AD’s health and JMart and Ferrel.
    Over the last year our special teams lost Boobie, Ventrone, spillman, morris, TBrock (probably wont play gunner as a starter) we need all the veterans and stability we can get.
    As for osgood I bet he comes back by week two as a non guaranteed contract. When Dorsey goes on IR and MMart on the PUP we will use 1 spot on Osgood and the other after boone comes back after week 1.

    Who are the 7 that don’t dress?
    JJohnson
    Lloyd
    Lynch
    i cant think of anyone else although i doubt they need all of moody skuta lemonier borland on st so maybe someone sits

    1. I’d put LMJ, Moody, Dobb’s or Jerod-Eddie, Lloyd, and some other guys not on the roster right now.

  18. Biggest surprise to me was not seeing Lloyd’s name on that list. At least not yet.

    1. Perhaps a no confidence move on the part of either Johnson or Patton. Patton except for being a fan favorite and that one catch last season has not really shown anything this season. I don’t think they would have kept Lloyd if they were going to get rid of him later. But then again they have done some head scratchers in the past.

  19. I would like to ask the question someone asked in an earlier post. Why is Craig Dahl on this team? I asked the same question last year. Everytime he steps on the field it is a big play waiting to happen. Grant can you answer that or someone else on here give me a reason. He is not better than Spillman.

  20. The core group on this blog seem to know exactly what’s happening and when others dare to contribute to the conversation, they’re either ignored or called names. Unfortunately, that is what I came to expect in the North Bay from the years I lived there. Unfortunately I’m too stupid to just shut up and go away. This is the year that Harbaugh either puts up or shuts up. The FO has done what they feel they have to do and it’s no more excuses time. I hope Harbaugh succeeds because no matter how hard I try, I can’t root against the Niners. I saw my first game in 1955, was a season ticket holder from 1971 through Garcia years. (you didn’t need a season ticket to go to every game before 1970) The 49ers history since Siefert took over for Walsh has been we just need to make a change here and a change there and we’re back to the glory years. I say enough! Harbaugh is in the last year of his contract. I believe, and I think the FO agrees, that he needs to play the hand he’s dealt and make it work. I know, I know, we a we are power running team with a lights out defense. No, we were a power running team with a lights out defense. Events have occurred that have changed that. This is contract time for Harbaugh and, like the players who play for him, it’s time to put up or shut up. Remember one thing about Jim Harbaugh, he inherited a team, 100 percent intact when he arrived. That team included a quarterback who despite all of his faults, took it upon himself to become a surrogate coach and prepare the team under very difficult circumstances to go on to the NFC championship game. This is a fact and not an opinion. Emotions aside, how much credit does he deserve for taking a 100 percent intact team and coaching them up, with a lot of help from others, to go as far as them did? This year is not a test of any individual 49er player and how well they perform. Instead, it is the ultimate test for one Jim Harbaugh. Make do and overcome. He was handed one of the best teams in football and came close three times. Now it’s contract time so let’s see what YOU can do.

    1. So why does he have to leave if he only gets to a NFC championship or playoffs this year? Why do we run him out of town when he put the 49ers back into contention from 10 years of mediocrity? Shouldn’t we reward success? I don’t understand the thought it makes no sense. You run coaches out of town who suck not ones who win. He has the drive if anyone on does.

      Who are you going to replace him with? List someone that’s going to rattle off 3 NFC title games in their first three seasons and one SB appearance. Murph and Mack tried to come up with coaches they’d rather have than JH. Put it out there who’s going to do a better job?

    2. You’re just spoiled. Bill Walsh, genius. JH, not as much. If you let him go, what did you have in mind to replace him?

  21. with out doctors approval to play lattimore will never see the playing field because of insurance. By extending his rehab another two months or a year the doctors might be more inclined to approve him to play!

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