3 surprise 49ers 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

Some NFL observers think the San Francisco 49ers are dangerous. But the team needs a healthy Christian McCaffrey to remain noise worthy. Also, the 49ers have tough calls to make, and here are three surprise 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch before Week 1.

Whether the 49ers can actually hang with the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks — or this year’s favorite, the Rams — remains to be seen. There is plenty of talent on the roster. But that can make cuts very difficult.

WR Christian Kirk

It looked like Kirk was a clear-cut player to join his fourth NFL team after seasons with the Cardinals, Jaguars, and Texans over the course of eight years. However, Kirk has seen his stock drop. And it has fallen deep enough to make him a cut candidate.

An injury hasn’t helped matters. The 49ers are going to have to make their decision based on the last few seasons. Kirk had a 1,000-yard year in 2022 with eight touchdowns. Since then, he had 787, 379, and 239 yards receiving with a combined five touchdowns. That doesn’t help his cause.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the unfortunate setbacks for Kirk, according to Sports Illustrated.

“That’s been unfortunate for him because he had the same thing in OTAs, so he missed that,” said Kyle Shanahan. “He hasn’t been ready to go, and he did it the first practice before we even got to team period. So I know he’s been extremely frustrated with it. We love the guy so far, but hopefully he can have some better luck going forward here so he can get some reps out here.”

If the 49ers keep six receivers, it could be these guys: Mike Evans, De’Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, and Jacob Cowing. That’s not far-fetched, according to sfstandard.com.

“It’s worth noting that Samuel has done position-group drills with both the receivers and the running backs,” David Lombardi wrote. “The 49ers could theoretically count him as their fifth back for 53-man tallying purposes, and that would effectively open a spot for another wideout. That could be the veteran Kirk, who hasn’t practiced since straining his calf on Day 1 of camp — or it could be someone like the rookie Pauling, if he impresses enough over the final two preseason games.”

Time is growing short for Kirk.

LG Connor Colby

Things started great for Colby. The seventh-round pick in 2025 appeared in 13 games last year and started six. He seemed headed for a starting job in 2026, according to NBC Sports.

“We’re going to play the best five players as we can,” 49ers assistant head coach and offensive line coach Chris Foerster said. “And at left guard, we brought guys in to compete at the left guard spot. Now, he (Colby) is the incumbent. And nobody else has done anything to beat him out to this point.

“Connor had an awesome offseason. I would say through OTAs, he really established himself. I’ll say Rob Jones has done an excellent job since being here as well. Those two guys have really set themselves apart from the other guys.”

But the preseason hasn’t gone in Colby’s favor. It appears he has been pushed to the brink of missing the cut.

“Colby, who opened camp as a favorite to win the left guard job, seems to be skating on thin ice,” Lombardi wrote. “He’s in a three-way battle for the open starting spot with (Robert) Jones and the rookie (Carver) Willis. Recent right guard action for Colby suggests that the 49ers are testing to see if he deserves a roster spot as a backup swing guard, but it might be hard to justify giving up valuable space for that type of a role.

“The practice squad might be a logical landing spot for Colby. Remember that (Colton) McKivitz began the 2021 season — his second in the league — on the practice squad after he was a deadline-day cutdown.”

Colby probably will remain with the team one way or the other. But it might not come without some pain.

Safety Ashtyn Davis

A six-year veteran and a former third-round pick, Davis played five seasons with the Jets before spending last year in Miami. He started a career-high 12 games and likely came to the 49ers with high hopes of landing another strong gig.

But now he’s fighting for a roster spot with Malik Mustapha, Ji’Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle, and Siran Neal ahead of him at the position.

And that doesn’t bode well for Davis sticking in the league. The 49ers have one of the bottom third secondary groups in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

“This is debatably the worst position group on an otherwise strong roster once again in 2026,” PFF wrote. “It’s a fairly young and homegrown unit — all five starters return from last year, and all were drafted by the organization. While continuity will help, there just isn’t much optimism to speak of. The 49ers’ 52.3 overall PFF grade was the third-lowest of any secondary in football in 2025.”

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