The 49ers added a little more stability on Sunday, bringing back safety Ashtyn Davis and punter Corliss Waitman on one-year deals while making room by sending cornerback Nate Hobbs and linebacker Nick Martin to injured reserve.
The roster shuffle gives San Francisco flexibility, but it also comes with a couple of injury notes worth watching. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports reported that Martin is expected back sometime in the middle of the season. He also said Hobbs should return and help the team at some point this year, though he didn’t give a timeline.
Martin’s path to playing time looked shaky even before the hamstring injury. The move to injured reserve may have been an easy way for the 49ers to keep him around without using an active roster spot. Hobbs, meanwhile, appears to be someone the team still believes can offer real value once he’s healthy.
Players placed on injured reserve can return later in the season. The distinction here is that Martin and Hobbs, unlike Austen Pleasants and Christian Kirk, do not have to be designated to return.
Davis gives the 49ers more help on special teams, and his signing naturally raises the question of Malik Mustapha’s recovery timeline. But San Francisco’s safety room has been so thin that adding another body makes sense even with Mustapha in the mix.
Waitman’s return also fits a pattern around the league. Several teams released their punters on Sunday in a procedural move that’s becoming more common, since teams no longer have to worry as much about another club scooping up a punter after roster cuts are in. It remains to be seen whether the 49ers will keep making that kind of move every year.
In Other News...
49ers Defensive Front Just Lost A Rookie They Were Counting On
Mykel Williams rookie year is starting with an unexpected pause after the 49ers placed the defensive lineman on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List, pushing back his debut by at least the first four games. The first-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft had been part of the plan for a front that expected to lean on its young pass rush talent, but an ACL injury has changed the opening stretch and ensured he will not be on the field for the season opener.
San Francisco has already set its 53-man roster, and the edge-rusher group will have to carry the load without him for now, with Sam Okuayinou, Keion White and Romello Height among the names on the list. The early absence matters because Williams was supposed to help line up next to Nick Bosa, and now the 49ers will have to find out how much pressure they can generate before their rookie defender is eligible to return. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Just Lost A Defender They Wanted To Keep
The 49ers roster churn is still rolling as teams around the league sort through waiver claims and the next round of practice-squad and injured reserve moves. San Francisco had been trying to keep its depth intact, but the early action already trimmed away some familiar names, with the Raiders grabbing Darrell Luter, the Chiefs taking Bryson Eason, and the Colts landing Kapena Gushiken.
There is still more movement to come before the day is done, and that is where the 49ers will get their next look at how the back end of the roster settles. Christian Jones and Isaiah Foskey were also part of the broader conversation around roster decisions and development, which is exactly why these post-cutdown hours can matter so much for a team trying to preserve young talent wherever it can. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Just Got A Harsh Early Reality Check In The NFC West
The NFC West already looked unforgiving for San Francisco, and now the early path has gotten even steeper. Reports that Aaron Donald is coming out of retirement to return to the Los Angeles Rams only add to a roster that already carried plenty of defensive bite, and the comparison between the two teams has tilted further toward Los Angeles on both sides of the ball. For a 49ers team trying to navigate a division that rarely offers much breathing room, it is the kind of development that forces an immediate reset of expectations.
The timing makes it even tougher to ignore because the 49ers are set to see the Rams first in Melbourne, Australia, a stage that will amplify whatever edge Los Angeles believes it has. San Francisco can still make its own case over the course of the season, but the matchup in front of it now looks like more than just an opener. It feels like an early test of whether the 49ers can keep pace in a division where the margin for error may already be shrinking. [Read more 🡒]