While the San Francisco 49ers did lose in their preseason opener, 17-13, to the Tennessee Titans, the outcome is not as important as the reps and experience gained by the reserves. The 49ers possess one of the deepest rosters in the NFL and use the preseason to bolster their pursuit of a Super Bowl title.
Despite the loss, a handful of backups played well or put themselves in a position to make the highly-competitive final 53-man roster.
Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, defensive tackle Kalia Davis, and linebacker Dee Winters are one step closer to a future with the five-time Super Bowl champion organization.
An injury likely secures roster spot for Rock Ya-Sin
A broken forearm will keep Ambry Thomas out indefinitely, which pushed Rock Ya-Sin into more playing time vs. the Titans. He fared well and has an excellent chance to stick around as the 49ers are juggling their defensive secondary reserves to find the right options. A 2019 second-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, Ya-Sin has bounced around the league in recent years. Ya-Sin saw sporadic playing time with the Ravens last year.
He played reasonably well against Tennessee and likely finds himself penciled in as the 49ers' No. 5 cornerback.
Knee surgery is only a temporary setback for Kalia Davis
A strong preseason opener puts Davis in an excellent position to make the 49ers roster. Davis finished the contest with two solo tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and a QB hit. After the game, a news report stated that Davis required surgery to remove a ‘floating body' in his knee, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.
When asked about Davis' performance after the preseason opener, head coach Kyle Shanahan offered a ton of praise and optimism for his future, via Jose Luis Sanchez III of Sports Illustrated.
“I thought it was one of his best games,” said Shanahan. “It was really unfortunate. He played awesome through the whole game. That's why he and us were so surprised that he had such a tough injury. It's a setback but he's had such a good camp, such a good game that he's in a good spot to bounce back.”
Davis is expected to miss roughly half the season. The 49ers' 2022 sixth-round pick out of Central Florida has put himself in a favorable position to make the roster despite the injury. Considering the 49ers are practically a lock for a postseason, Davis will have every opportunity to contribute this year.
Dee Winters stepping up as injuries mount at linebacker
Many reports raved about Winters' preseason performance against the Titans, despite defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen delivering encouragement and critiques after the game, via Grant Cohn at Sports Illustrated.
“Dee was fun,” Sorensen said. “He played hard, he was flying around. It wasn't perfect, some of the execution stuff, but just seeing him, like I was saying, just taking that next step to cut it loose, you saw that. So it was fun to see Dee get out there, get some playing time and play fast and violent.”
“It's just assignments sometimes and knowing where to line up. Just being in the right spot. It's just details, the fundamental details. And then once you have that and that’s second nature, that's when you see him really flying and taking his shots. We want him to play like that just all the time. So it's just, how can we cut it loose like that as consistently as possible?”
The 2023 sixth-round pick out of TCU finished with six tackles and one tackle for loss. Winters was listed as the No. 2 WILL linebacker behind De'Vondre Campbell Sr. in the 49ers' unofficial depth chart. The team is thin at linebacker and may opt to sign a free agent if they don't believe their reserves are ready to play.
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