The 49ers are headed into the second half of the season at 6-1, and the return of several big names is about to shake up the snap counts across the roster. Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, and Mike Evans are all pointed toward Week 9, which means some of the players who helped keep the team afloat during the early stretch are going to see their roles change.
That part makes sense. The stars come back, the rotation tightens, and the bench gets a little fuller.
But not every fill-in should be pushed aside. A few players did enough during their chances to deserve more than a quiet slide back into the background.
Jordan Watkins is one of them. He played 76 percent of offensive snaps in each of the last two games before the bye, and in Atlanta he turned that opportunity into real production.
Watkins finished with three catches for 56 yards, had a touchdown overturned on review, and earned public praise from head coach Kyle Shanahan afterward. With Evans and Samuel returning, his workload will drop, but the performance was enough to show he belongs in the conversation for more snaps.
Kaelon Black has also done plenty with limited runway. It’s never easy for a running back to stand out when Christian McCaffrey is sitting ahead of him on the depth chart, but Black has handled the assignment well.
He has 233 rushing yards and one touchdown on 57 carries, and in Atlanta he led the 49ers with 12 carries, 63 yards, and his only touchdown of the season. With San Francisco seemingly easing back on McCaffrey’s workload, Black has made a strong case to keep getting work.
If the 49ers keep giving him opportunities, they could end up with two elite running backs on the roster headed into January.
Then there’s Gracen Halton, who has made his mark in a different way. He’s tied for second on the team with two sacks, and he already owns one of the season’s defining moments: the end-zone fumble recovery for a touchdown against Seattle. With Alfred Collins out for the season, there are snaps open in the interior rotation, and Halton should slide into more obvious passing-down work.
He’s a fourth-round rookie who keeps finding ways to make plays in a limited role. The second half of the season will tell the rest of that story.
The return of the top names will shape the 49ers’ stretch run, but so will the players who earned their chance while others were out. A playoff push is rarely built on only 22 starters, and this bye week was the right time to recognize the ones who have earned more.
In Other News...
49ers Trade Could Already Be Bad News For Jordan Watkins
The 49ers move to bring DeForest Buckner back to San Francisco bolstered one side of the ball, but it also has a ripple effect elsewhere on the roster as the trade deadline approaches. For a team already trying to keep its offense balanced, any new addition can change the math, and that is where Jordan Watkins enters the conversation. The rookie receiver has been part of the mix, but his role is hardly locked in with the 49ers still navigating their passing-game plans.
San Francisco has been connected to more help at wide receiver, and that kind of talk always creates pressure on the players fighting for snaps. Watkins has flashed enough to stay in the picture, but if the 49ers do make another move for a pass catcher, the competition for playing time could get even tighter. For now, he remains one of the names to watch as the front office weighs how aggressive it wants to be before the deadline. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Face An Uncomfortable Mac Jones Reality As Deadline Nears
Mac Jones has become one of the quieter names in the trade chatter around the 49ers as the NFL deadline draws closer, and that silence says plenty. Despite the speculation that always follows a backup quarterback with a recognizable track record, no real market has developed for Jones, leaving San Francisco in the familiar position of carrying a passer whose value around the league has not matched the buzz around him.
With the deadline set for Nov. 10, the most realistic outcome now looks like Jones simply staying put and seeing out his contract in San Francisco. The one thing that could change the picture is a major injury to a playoff contenders starting quarterback, which would suddenly turn a backup into a far more urgent target, but until something like that happens, there is not much reason to expect movement. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Face A Risky Mac Jones Decision They Can't Ignore
The idea of San Francisco reshuffling its backup quarterback spot has surfaced in a way that says more about the market than the 49ers actual plans. Mac Jones is now part of a hypothetical trade conversation that would send him to Philadelphia and bring Jimmy Garoppolo back to the Bay Area, a notion built around familiar faces, roster need and the kind of quarterback insurance teams always end up debating once the season starts to take shape.
But for the 49ers, the logic gets murkier fast. Jones is still viewed as a player with value, and moving him would mean helping a division rival while reopening old questions about Garoppolos fit and his history with the franchise. No official talks have been reported, which leaves this more as a thought exercise than a live deal, but it is the sort of possibility that reminds San Francisco how thin the line can be between prudence and regret at quarterback. [Read more 🡒]