With the 2024 season awash, the 49ers should look to the future and see what they have in these five practice squad rookies.
The San Francisco 49ers aren’t going to be in the playoffs this year, which means the only things left to play for are pride and to be the spoiler.
In the wake of their Week 16 loss to the Miami Dolphins, and now at 6-9, the Niners face the hard reality of what’ll be a tough offseason, chock full of difficult roster decisions, potential extensions and salary-cap casualties.
All of this, of course, falls into the evaluation period between elimination and Week 1 of 2025, but head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch can get a jump on those activities right away.
A lot of it can be performed in-house, too.
With two games remaining, San Francisco needs to consider bumping up some (or all) of these five rookies from the practice squad to see if they have anything to offer.
5 rookies 49ers should promote from the practice squad now
No. 1: QB Tanner Mordecai
Whether or not the 49ers opt to hand quarterback Brock Purdy a big-money extension this offseason is a massive talking point, and the final two games will have a serious impact on those conversations.
That said, Purdy’s two backups, Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs, are both free agents and have little to prove to Shanahan at this point. There doesn’t appear to be much of a need to retain either, assuming Purdy isn’t going anywhere, meaning the opportunity to promote undrafted rookie Tanner Mordecai to the gameday roster would have some merit.
Granted, Mordecai would only sniff the field in garbage time or because of an injury. But, getting some practical reps against NFL-level competition would reveal valuable knowledge about whether or not the Niners have something worth developing in the former Wisconsin signal-caller.
No. 2: TE Mason Pline
Former Furman tight end Mason Pline flashed enough promise during the preseason to hang around as a practice squad addition, and the 6-foot-6 target could find his way toward the back end of the 53-man roster in a year’s time, assuming San Francisco no longer sees Eric Saubert and/or Jake Tonges as viable backups in support of All-Pro George Kittle.
Now, one shouldn’t assume Pline is ticketed to be the No. 2 tight end the 49ers have so desperately sought over the years.
However, the Niners could now start asking the questions about whether or not Pline can at least be in the conversation.
No. 3: WR Terique Owens
The son of Hall of Famer Terrell Owens experienced a notable setback early in his San Francisco tenure, suffering a hand injury that resulted in a waived/injured designation. But the 49ers thought well of wide receiver Terique Owens to bring him back onto the practice squad.
The 6-foot-3 receiver certainly deserves to see some more looks than what the Niners would potentially give a journeyman veteran, Chris Conley, over the final two games.
No. 4: DB Jaylen Mahoney
San Francisco is looking at the hard reality of second-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown’s massive regression from 2023, which resulted in a midseason benching and the need to bring in an old friend, veteran Tashaun Gipson, to bolster the depth chart.
But Gipson and All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga are both ticketed for free agency this offseason. While the latter is a strong re-sign candidate, Gipson is well beyond the wrong side of 30 years old and doesn’t figure into the 49ers’ long-term plans.
If Brown doesn’t either, giving former Vanderbilt safety Jaylen Mahoney some early looks might be worthwhile, especially if the 5-foot-11 defensive back can prove his mettle on what’s been a disastrous special teams unit this season.
No. 5: C Drake Nugent
The Niners need an upgrade over veteran center Jake Brendel, and this offseason should provide plenty of opportunities to look for one.
Typically, Shanahan prefers experience from his centers over youthful prowess, but former Michigan center Drake Nugent has plenty of starting experience (three years between the Wolverines and Stanford) and was a finalist for the 2023 Rimington Trophy, given to college football’s top center, when he was on Michigan’s championship squad a year ago.
Brendel would have to suffer an injury or a complete meltdown for someone like Nugent to get the call, but bumping the undrafted rookie onto the back end of the depth chart would at least allow him to earn some much-needed cred heading into an offseason where upgrading the offensive line needs to be a top priority.
