49ers Late August 53-Man Roster Projection

Monday was the first day of mandatory off-season cuts for NFL teams. The 49ers cut 12 players in order to get to the 75-player roster limit, which makes the final 53-man roster seem much more clear. Granted none of the cuts were huge surprises, but perhaps a few "roster long-shots" were removed from some projections.

As such, I'm going to throw my hat into the ring and try my hand at predicting the "final" (it's never final) 53-man roster. I doubt I'll shock anyone with my picks, but let's face it: It's a right of passage this time of year when the games haven't yet counted.

Here we go!

Alex Smith

Anthony Davis

Ted Ginn

Kyle WIlliams

DeMarcus Dobbs

R. Jean-Francois

OLB

ILB

Dashon Goldson

Some notable players not everyone may have:

Darcel McBath: I might be the only one, but I think his experience will be a good reason to keep him around, especially with Dashon Goldson's future up in the air, playing this year on the franchise tender.

Kyle Williams: The vitriol has gone on long enough. Time to start embracing the fact that Williams is entrenched as the backup punt returner (although that might make you cringe) and is explosive as a WR (evidenced vs. Denver with a huge gain on a short pass-and-run).

Scott Tolzien: The kid is a pure gamer and a real pocket-passer. He stands tall and has a gritty command of the huddle. I think he could work his way into challenging for a starting role in a few years, as unlikely as it may seem being he was an undrafted free-agent in 2011.

I left Ian Williams off, though that's looking like a tenuous conclusion. He has practice-squad eligibility but another team may likely snatch him up to play nose-tackle (as a backup at first) with the advent of the 3-4 defense.

I also think the 49ers try to stash Cam Johnson on the PS after a quiet pre-season where he was slowed by injuries. Parys Haralson isn't long for his spot as overpriced-backup at OLB and Johnson has flashed talent at times.

In the end, I think Josh Johnson ends up a Seahawk as they are not very comitted to their third-string QB Josh Portis at the moment, and just traded Tarvaris Jackson. We all know how they like to pick up the 49ers scraps, and Johnson has some experience as a backup...but won't command big money.

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