SANTA CLARA — When Christian McCaffrey returned to full health and Brian Robinson Jr. was brought in as the clear RB2, plenty of people assumed Isaac Guerendo would still keep a warm seat on the bench. Wrong. Thirteen weeks into the 2025 season, Guerendo has lost not just the RB3 job but his kick-return role as well. Zero offensive snaps. Zero touches. His name doesn’t even appear in most special-teams packages anymore.

That’s not an accident. That’s a message.

Sources inside the organization say the coaching staff and personnel department have concluded that Guerendo — the 2024 fourth-round pick once hyped as a “versatile weapon” — no longer fits the long-term plan. Drafting another running back, Jordan James out of Oregon, in 2025 was step one. Step two, likely coming as early as spring 2026, will be cutting or trading him to make room for younger, cheaper options.

Guerendo had his moment: 420 rushing yards in three starts in 2024 while both McCaffrey and Jordan Mason were hurt. But once the room got healthy, he was immediately buried. The 4.33 speed is real, but his block recognition and pass protection remain “below average” by internal evaluations. In a Shanahan offense that prides itself on interchangeable backs, Guerendo suddenly became the odd man out.

He’s not alone on the exit ramp.

Also on the “back door is cracked open” list:

– WR Ronnie Bell (2023 seventh-rounder) – no noticeable jump in route-running, passed by Pearsall, Jennings, and Skyy Moore.
– EDGE Robert Beal Jr. (2023 third-rounder) – still zero career sacks through two-plus seasons, leapfrogged by Gross-Matos and a healthy Drake Jackson.
– CB Darrell Luter Jr. (2023 fifth-rounder) – pushed completely out of the nickel rotation after the Oliver signing and another rookie corner addition.

John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have never been sentimental about draft picks who don’t develop. Guerendo, Bell, Beal, and Luter — all from the 2023-24 classes, all once labeled “quality depth” — now face the same cold reality: clear roster spots and cap room for the next wave.

For Guerendo, the fall from 2024 emergency hero to 2025 afterthought took exactly 12 months. He probably won’t be the last. In Santa Clara, if you’re not moving forward, you’re out the door — faster than most people realize.