The 49ers’ preseason ended the way a lot of roster battles do: not with clarity, but with a problem. San Francisco beat the Raiders 18-12 Thursday night at Allegiant Stadium, and now the real work begins. The club has to turn in its 53-man roster by Sunday afternoon, with the league moving the deadline to Aug. 30 because of the 49ers’ Week 1 trip to Melbourne, according to The Athletic.
And the toughest call lands in a receiver room that suddenly looks crowded with legitimate options.
Mike Evans joined in March on a three-year deal after 12 seasons in Tampa Bay, per AP News. Deebo Samuel is back on a one-year contract after Ricky Pearsall’s season-ending PCL surgery, according to The Athletic.
De’Zhaun Stribling, the second-round rookie, has been one of the steadiest names in camp. Demarcus Robinson has handled every spot when the others were unavailable.
Christian Kirk, signed in March, has missed most of camp with a calf injury and is projected by The San Francisco Standard as a candidate for a return-from-IR designation.
That leaves Jacob Cowing in the uncomfortable middle.
Cowing was a 2024 fourth-round pick, but he lost all of 2025 to recurring hamstring issues. His career line is still just four catches for 80 yards.
What keeps him in the conversation is the one thing San Francisco can’t manufacture: burst. He showed it against the Chargers, ripping an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown, and Kyle Shanahan called the play “huge” after the game, according to Niners Nation.
That kind of play matters because of how this offense is built. Shanahan’s system leans on jet motion, quick-hitting throws and manufactured touches, so a receiver who can threaten defenses both deep and in space has real value even if he’s not catching a heavy workload. Cowing also gives the 49ers something else they need right now: a punt returner.
That’s part of the dilemma. Deebo Samuel hasn’t been a regular punt returner in recent seasons.
Kirk has not returned one since college and has barely practiced. Jordan Watkins doesn’t have NFL return experience.
Sports Illustrated argued after the Chargers game that Cowing had already taken the return job.
The roster math gets even tighter because carrying six receivers isn’t just about one extra name on paper. It’s one more spot that can’t go to the offensive line or the secondary, where the 49ers have had to manage personnel carefully. John Lynch already made a move on Aug. 25, sending Zamir White to New Orleans for veteran linebacker Deion Jones after injuries thinned that room, and that kind of trade-off is exactly what’s hanging over Cowing now.
The risk of trying to sneak him through waivers is obvious. Late August is when receiver-needy teams go looking for speed, and Cowing has that.
If San Francisco cuts him and hopes he reaches the practice squad, another team could claim him. That’s the nightmare scenario: letting a player go only to watch him land somewhere else and make a play the 49ers just saw with their own eyes.
All of this is unfolding while assistant head coach Chris Foerster has been helping handle daily operations as Shanahan works through concussion symptoms from a July 14 car accident, a situation the team outlined when camp opened and NFL.com detailed. Shanahan has been around the field more as camp has gone on and is expected to coach Week 1, but the roster deadline doesn’t pause for any of that.
So the 49ers are left with an ugly but familiar decision. Keep Cowing and preserve a rare skill set, plus a return man who just scored.
Cut him and open a spot elsewhere, then hope no one else grabs him. Either way, Sunday’s deadline is going to force San Francisco to decide whether Cowing is a luxury or a loss they can’t afford.
In Other News...
Chargers Fringe Players Face One Last Shot To Survive Cutdown Day
The final week of preseason has a way of turning every snap into a resume line, and thats exactly where several Chargers fringe players find themselves now. Jacob Spomer, Amar Johnson, Andre Carter II, Junior Colson, TeRah Edwards and Greg Desrosiers Jr. are all trying to turn summer opportunities into something more permanent, whether that means cracking the 53-man roster or at least carving out a place on the practice squad. Their cases have been shaped by recent performances, but also by the realities of roster math, where injuries and crowded position groups can be just as important as what happens on the field.
Junior Colson remains one of the more interesting names in that mix because his path is tied not just to how he has looked, but to how the Chargers sort through the competition around him. The same is true for the others, who are all waiting for one last chance to make a final impression before decisions start coming fast. For players on the edge, this is the part of camp where every rep can matter and every absence can open or close a door. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Suddenly Have A Familiar Special Teams Decision To Make
Special teams has become a quiet but important subplot for the Chargers this preseason, and JK Scott is suddenly right in the middle of it. The veteran punter, now in his fourth season with Los Angeles, has come under scrutiny after a series of miscues, including a missed tackle attempt on a return man and an underwhelming punt average that has put extra attention on a unit the Chargers need to be steady.
The timing makes the evaluation more delicate, because the alternatives are familiar names and the market is not exactly standing still. Thomas Morstead is one possibility, while Jamie Gillan has also been mentioned, though he could be off the board soon if another team moves first. For a Chargers team trying to tighten up all the small stuff before the season, the decision at punter has turned into one worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Just Created A Quarterback Tension Fans Will Watch Closely
Around the division, the quarterback ripple effect is already starting to show, and the Raiders are the latest team to add another layer to it by bringing in Kirk Cousins as a veteran bridge to their top draft pick. Cousins has already acknowledged the setup and the competition for the starting job, which gives Las Vegas a clear short-term plan while also keeping the long-term picture tied to the rookie it just invested in.
For the Chargers, any move that affects the Raiders at quarterback matters because it shapes the landscape they have to navigate twice a year. Jim Harbaugh, meanwhile, is still sorting out his own offensive front after Tyler Biadaszs ACL injury, with Kayode Awosika currently leading the left guard battle, so the Chargers are watching both their division rival and their own protection issues at the same time. [Read more 🡒]