The 49ers may spend their preseason opener taking a long look at the back end of the roster, because their top two safeties are not expected to be out there.
Malik Mustapha has not been healthy recently, and Ji’Ayir Brown looks like he’s had enough of a strong training camp to sit this one out and avoid adding anything unnecessary to his workload. That opens the door for a group of newcomers and depth pieces who suddenly have a real chance to make noise.
One name to watch is Siran Neal, even though his usage with San Francisco has mostly come at cornerback. He’s been working with the safeties, but his path to the roster usually runs through special teams, so his role on defense may be limited.
Then there’s Sigle, a fifth-round rookie last year who opened the season as a starter for the first six games before getting benched. That alone made for a meaningful first step in his NFL career, and now he gets another shot to build on it. The wrinkle is that the defense around him is different from the one he was drafted into, which makes his fit under Raheem Morris worth watching closely.
The 49ers also brought in Davis after he started 12 games for the New York Jets last season. The Jets weren’t good, so he did not arrive with the kind of résumé that guarantees anything here, but he is at least in the mix for a roster spot. He, too, is one of Morris’ additions, which makes his usage in this system part of the evaluation.
Stroman, a rookie UDFA from Notre Dame, may have the clearest opening simply because the room around him is so thin. That said, he’ll need to prove he can do more than just survive on defense; special teams value will matter just as much. He’s another player brought in by Morris and his staff, which gives his debut added intrigue.
And then there is McMorris, a sixth-round pick in 2024 who doesn’t fit the usual end-of-the-roster profile. He played in six games as a rookie, then didn’t see the field at all in 2025.
Now he’s trying to hang on in San Francisco, and like several of the other names in this group, he’s someone Morris brought in. That makes him part of the larger test: figuring out what this secondary can look like once the top names step aside.
In Other News...
49ers Preseason Opener Just Raised The Stakes For Roster Hopefuls
The 49ers first preseason game did more than shake off the rust, it started to separate the hopefuls from the long shots. Some players helped their cases with the kind of early work coaches notice, while the teams roster math got a little tighter with the first wave of cuts already beginning to trim the camp roster. Special teams roles are also starting to come into focus, with Watkins and Deebo Samuel looking like they could handle return duties as the club keeps sorting out where the most reliable depth fits.
Kurtis Rourke was one of the more interesting names to emerge from the opener, showing enough to stand out before his injury complicated the picture. His performance suggests there is something to work with, but the setback could push him toward a practice squad path rather than an immediate roster spot. On the other side of the ledger, Nate Hobbs has barely been able to practice, and his absence has left the 49ers weighing just how they want to manage his availability if he is not ready when the season begins. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Fans Should Watch This Pass Rusher Closely
South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart is the kind of draft prospect 49ers fans should keep on the radar, especially if they are already thinking about the next wave of help for the defensive line. The scouting report points to the athleticism and pass-rush ability that have made him stand out, along with the kind of upside that can put a player in first-round conversations before he ever reaches the league.
The bigger question now is health, after Stewart dealt with a back injury in 2025 that could shape how teams view him moving forward. If he stays on track, his ceiling makes him an intriguing long-term option for San Francisco, a team that could always use more young edge talent in the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Depth Battles Already Look A Lot More Concerning
The 49ers used their preseason opener in Tennessee exactly the way a team in August is supposed to, keeping most of the starters on the sideline and giving rookies and backups a long look in live action. The result was a 19-13 loss, but the more important part for San Francisco was how the roster depth held up when the games started to count for evaluation.
A handful of players did not help their cases much. Robert Jones, Connor Colby, Patrick Taylor Jr., Romello Height, Drake Nugent and Doug Kramer Jr. all drew attention for uneven showings, which is not the kind of first impression a team wants when jobs are being sorted out. For a roster with expectations as high as San Franciscos, these early depth battles were already going to matter, and now they look a little more unsettled than the 49ers probably hoped. [Read more 🡒]