The 49ers on Tuesday announced their initial 53-man roster, but they’re not done maneuvering or finalizing anything just yet.
While there’s a waiver claims process that’ll play out Wednesday, San Francisco isn’t liable to be active there given where they sit in the waiver priority. At 1:00pm Pacific Time though they can start moving players to IR, which will open up some roster spots.
Players who go on IR after initially making the 53-man roster can be given a return designation and make their way back to the active roster after at least four weeks. Teams are allowed to bring players back eight times during the season. Last year San Francisco ran out of return designations so they might be more diligent in their use of them this year.
Matt Barrows of the Athletic reported defensive end Austin Bryant and defensive lineman Kerry Hyder Jr. are expected to re-sign with San Francisco after bring released Tuesday, which means at least two players are likely to go on an injured list Wednesday afternoon.
There are four players who are candidates to go on IR to clear roster spots: