The odds are against receiver DeAndre Smelter making the 49ers‘ final cut, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes. Even though he’s 6’2″ and the rest of the team’s WRs are lacking size, the numbers crunch will make it hard for him to stick. The starters right now are Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin, and Jeremy Kerley. Meanwhile, Kyle Shanahan favorite Trent Taylor is almost assured a roster spot and Aldrick Robinson has a leg up thanks to his familiarity with Shanahan’s system. That leaves seven receivers, including Smelter, vying for one potential spot.
Here’s more from the NFC West:
- Big things could be in Byron Leftwich‘s future. Leftwich is currently serving as the Cardinals‘ quarterbacks coach but head coach Bruce Arians seems to think he’ll ascend the ranks quickly. “He’ll be a head coach early and fast,” Arians said (via Darren Urban of the team’s official website). Leftwich was promoted to quarterbacks coach in January after Freddie Kitchens was moved to running backs coach as Stump Mitchell‘s replacement.
- The Rams‘ inability to build a winning culture for the past 12 years has left them in a tough spot, Michael Lombardi of The Ringer writes. The Rams have just 60 wins over that period and have not done better than .500 in that span.
- A pair of ex-49ers employees had some not-so-complimentary things to say about Colin Kaepernick.