The 49ers lost one of their more intriguing undrafted defenders Tuesday when the Chiefs claimed Bryson Eason off waivers, a move that underlined just how tight the roster math can get at defensive tackle.
Eason had flashed enough in camp and the preseason to make himself a real factor. He built on a strong Week 1, even if he didn’t quite keep that momentum rolling late. Still, Kansas City was convinced enough to use the ninth spot in the waiver order on him, and that was that.
It’s an unfortunate loss for San Francisco because Eason looked like he belonged. He played with intelligence, held up against the run and looked the part physically. The pass rush production wasn’t there, but that’s hardly a unique problem for defensive tackles on this roster.
There’s also the unavoidable question of how much draft status factored into the decision. Eason was better in the preseason than Alfred Collins, and you could make the case he matched or even topped CJ West during the games. But Collins and West were draft picks, and teams usually aren’t eager to move on from players they invested in just a year ago.
The waiver wire didn’t offer much help from the 49ers’ side either. At No. 28, they were basically stuck waiting while other teams with higher priority scooped up players. That’s not a bad place to be in a larger sense - it means you’re coming off a playoff win - but it does limit what you can do when the cuts start.
That leaves San Francisco with the possibility of working the practice squad market instead of making immediate roster changes. Players can still be signed after they clear waivers, and that’s where a few names stood out.
One of them was safety Kapena Gushiken, nicknamed “Gush” by Vic Fangio during OTAs. The undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss spent time with the Eagles starters in camp and brought real athletic juice to the table.
He’s listed at 5’9”, 189 pounds, but the testing numbers jump off the page: a 4.35 in the 40, a 41-inch vertical, and an 11-foot broad jump at Ole Miss’s Pro Day. He also posted the third-fastest GPS time in college football in 2024.
For most of camp, Gushiken looked like someone who might stick. Fangio even said the final preseason game would be a big one for him.
Instead, that game turned into the turning point. He missed three tackles, gave up a first-down catch and allowed a touchdown, and that probably settled the issue.
Before that, though, he had been active and aggressive. He tackled well in the two games before the finale, hardly gave anything up in coverage, and stayed involved on special teams every week.
One of his missed tackles came there, and his size will always be a concern as a gunner. Even so, the speed and closing burst are real, and those traits give him a path at safety and on special teams.
Update: Gushiken was claimed by the Colts. Indianapolis was 16th on the waiver wire.
Another option was offensive tackle Christian Jones, a 6’5”, 320-pound right tackle who also cross-trained on the left side. That extra work likely slowed his progress some, but the traits are there. Jones was a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, played fewer than 70 snaps as a rookie and spent time on Injured Reserve until December because of a knee injury.
The former Texas Longhorn is still a work in progress, but not a lost cause. He has the arm length, hand size and athletic ability teams want.
He played only 10 snaps at left tackle in the Hall of Fame Game and then handled right tackle the rest of the way. At 26, he still has room to grow into a swing tackle role.
On the practice squad, he could keep developing and try to work his way into backup consideration next season. Update: Jones was claimed by
The final name was edge rusher Isaiah Foskey, who had a strong preseason with the Bengals and finished with 11 pressures. His tackling still needs work, but he showed enough as a pass rusher and even looked comfortable dropping into coverage, which is the kind of profile that gets attention on waivers, especially for a team looking for more juice off the edge.
Foskey checks the size and movement boxes too, coming in at nearly 6’5”, 264 pounds with 34-inch arms. He ran a 4.58 40 and posted a broad jump in the 89th percentile, so the athletic tools are there.
The appeal is straightforward: second-round pedigree, Notre Dame’s all-time sack leader and a player who plays hard. For San Francisco, the idea would be simple - add a younger, more athletic depth piece and hope the pass rush upside carries.
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49ers Final Cuts Put These Unexpected Players In The Spotlight
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On the other side of the ball, undrafted interior lineman Thompson made enough of an impression to earn a roster place over other candidates, while White managed to come back from injury and is set to start in Week 1. Bethune also held onto a spot after a competitive battle, a reminder that the final cutdown day can sometimes open as many doors as it closes. [Read more 🡒]