In March the 49ers prioritized cost-cutting, releasing veteran depth and planning to replace them via the draft. Multiple preseason injuries decimated both young draftees and off-the-street free agents, leaving the roster thin across positions. By the 53-man deadline the team had only two healthy wide receivers, ten offensive linemen, eleven defensive linemen and no punter. The front office has been forced to cut players needed for Week 1 to pursue other teams' cut-day veterans. Reliance on inexperienced rookies and marginal free agents has created precarious depth and an urgent need for immediate reinforcements.
In March, 49ers general manager John Lynch was defiant. Sure, his front office had followed ownership's mandate to cut costs, jettisoning veteran (aka, expensive) depth and replacing it with no one in particular (cheap) during free agency, but as Lynch told this news organization: We've got this thing called the draft. That's how the Niners would backfill their roster: kids.
The Niners were ravaged by injuries in the preseason, with both young players and the off-the-street free agents brought in to replace them going down so frequently, I'm surprised the Niners haven't hired afterlife experts to investigate if the facility is cursed. Then again, the players that are most injured in the NFL are off-the-street free agents (injury concerns are likely why they were available) and young players (who are adapting to NFL size and speed and often pay for that education).
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