Last season I signed up for text message updates from the 49ers and I have to say, some of the time I'm receiving them before seeing anything online.  Being in the slow days of June, not a whole lot is going on so not too many messages.  However, early yesterday afternoon I learned that the 49ers had successfully claimed QB Kyle Wright off waivers from the Vikings and waived QB Drew Olson.

Considering the quarterbacks already in camp, I'd be shocked if Wright was on the roster at the end of August.  At the same time, Wright could be a prime candidate for the practice squad.  Drew Olson actually spent a small part of the season on the practice squad.  In the meantime, the claim of Wright has inspired me.  The 49ers currently have 81 players on their roster, including unsigned draft picks.  Just for sh$#s and giggles I thought I'd put together the "worst starting lineup possible."  All of these players are certainly world class athletes, but many of them are not starter quality.

OFFENSE
QB: Kyle Wright - He was ok for the U last season but definitely the worst option.
RB: Michael Robinson - Robinson brings a lot to the table, but I'm convinced Thomas Clayton is a better pure running back.  We're not factoring in potential special teams contributions either.
WR: Dominque Ziegler & Jerard Rabb - I actually like most of the 49ers less wide receivers, especially Robert Jordan.  Ziegler has struggled with injuries problems and Rabb was the 1A banana at Boise State in 2006 (he was the guy who caught the lateral and tied the game).
TE: Cooper Wallace - At least JJ Finley is a rookie and put up better college numbers.  Wallace has been in the NFL a couple years and hasn't made a big impact yet.  I'd imagine he's coming to the end of the road pretty soon.
OT: Damane Duckett & Alan Reuber - Duckett is a pet project of Nolan and considering he's never actually played in a game as a tackle.  Reuber has been around since 2004 and has seen scattered action during that time.
C: Cody Wallace - Not exactly an inspired pick.  I'm tempted to just see Wallace starting over Heitmann, but this is more a default pick since the 49ers only have a pair of centers.
OG: Brian De La Puente & Jeb Terry - Terry has been around the league for a few years and seen some action mostly on special teams.  De La Puente is a rookie out of Cal and I wouldn't mind seeing him on the practice squad.

DEFENSE
DE: Atiyyah Ellison & Louis Holmes - Ellison joins the running theme of practice squad bodies on this squad.  Louis Holmes is an undrafted free agent, so it's certainly too early to tell what he brings to the table.
DT: Walter Curry - LaJuan Ramsey was battling for this spot, but Ramsey has actually registered real NFL statistics.  Curry was an undrafted free agent in 2005 and has bounced from practice squads to NFL Europe and back.
OLB: Roderick Green & Parys Haralson - The linebacker positions show you the deth the 49ers have.  Green and Haralson are probably not starting caliber (at least for the 49ers), but they provide quality depth
ILB: Dennis Haley & Larry Grant - As seen in the outside linebackers, inside linebacker would also be a strength of this particular team.  Grant is a favorite of mine, so we'll see how he looks in training camp.
CB: Markus Curry & Marcus Hudson - Curry has bounced around practice squads since 2005 and I'd imagine he'd be an early cut in training camp.  The second CB spot was tough.  Tarell Brown brings way too much upside and Strickland gets a pass thanks to his huge defensive play against the Cardinals.  Reggie Smith is too green to be considered here so that leaves "veteran" Marcus Hudson.
FS: Lewis Baker - He's an undrafted free agent with some potential, but I certainly don't see sticking Mark Roman or Dashon Goldson in this spot.
SS: DJ Parker - Similar to Baker above, I don't see sticking Michael Lewis or Keith Lewis in this spot.

There's a back-up punter but that would just be ridiculous to talk about.  Of course considering I just did an analysis of the bottom end of the roster pool, maybe I should have included Ricky Schmitt.  I'd imagine this team would probably go 0-16.  Although, I definitely think this would make for an impressive college team.  So, would this team be able to win at the NFL level?  Considering we're playing Miami this year, it's entirely possible 1-15 is a better bet.

So last week we had some fun projecting the 49ers 53-man roster for the upcoming season.  A vast majority of the spots were easy to fill, but as we got to the last few guys in and out, things got a little dicier.  There are definitely a few guys on the bubble when it comes to filling out the roster.  So, I thought it'd be fun (or at least useful information) to try and project out potential cuts and practice squad players.  In order to do that, I did some research in the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement on who is eligible for the practice squad.  After the jump I've included the specific rules, word-for word, but in the meantime here's the quick and dirty version. 

A player is NOT eligible for the practice squad if he one accrued season of NFL experience.  An accrued season occurs when a player is on full pay status for a total of six or more regular season games.  After two seasons on the practice squad, a player can be on it for a third year, only if his team has at least 53 players on the Active/Inactive List the entire time.  That's a little more confusing too me, so I've made some notes on some of the guys below to whom that might apply.

After listing every player I went through and sorted guys into four groups: 1) Pretty much a lock to make the 53-man roster; 2) Ineligible for the practice squad, so on the bubble of making the 53-man roster or being cut; 3) Eligible for the practice squad but somewhat of a chance of making the 53-man roster, so on the bubble of making the 53-man or practice squad; and 4) eligible for the practice squad, but slim to no chance of making the 53-man roster, so on the bubble between the practice squad and being cut.  I determined practice squad eligibility by going through player bios at the 49ers website.  Also, there were a couple guys on my projected 53-man roster that are definitely bubble guys, so I've moved them off and added them to one of the groups.  All the players listed are in no particular order.

1. 53-man/Cut
FB Zak Keasey, OT Alan Reuber, DE Melvin Oliver, LB Roderick Green, LB Dennis Haley, G Jeb Terry, DE Atiyyah Ellison, DB Marcus Hudson, DB Markus Curry, G Qasim Mitchell, QB Drew Olson, TE Cooper Wallace, DT Walter Curry.  The last three might be eligible for a 3rd year on the practice squad, but I'm not 100% sure.

2. 53-man/Practice Squad
LB Larry Grant, LB Jay Moore, WR Josh Morgan, RB Thomas Clayton, DT Joe Cohen, WR Dominique Zeigler

3. Practice Squad/Cut
WR Cam Colvin, LB Shaun Richardson, S D.J. Parker, S Lewis Baker, WR Robert Jordan, WR Jerard Rabb, G Brian De La Puente, DE Louis Holmes, G John Booker, TE J.J. Finley,  P Ricky Schmitt

If my information is correct, we have at least 17 and possible 20 guys eligible for the practice squad (depending on how Olson, Wallace and Curry fall).  As the groupings are currently set, there are 51 guys on the 53-man roster.  I removed Larry Grant and Josh Morgan to reflect their bubble status.  Damane Duckett would be in trouble if the team signs Barry Sims and he made the 53-man roster as Duckett is not eligible for the practice squad.  Other than that, I think that leaves roughly 51 guys pretty locked in to the 53-man roster (obviously not factoring in any potential injuries). 

So, the question becomes, who makes up the practice squad?  If he stays healthy, I wouldn't be surprised to see Robert Jordan stick around, as well as Shaun Richardson and/or Louis Holmes.  I'm going to say that Jay Moore bounces to the 53-man side of the bubble as my 53-man only has 3 natural outside linebackers (Lawson, TBC and Haralson).  It looks like Justin Smith will get plenty of time there but he'll be moving all over the place.  So for this exercise I see last year as like a practice squad year for Moore and will bump him into the 53-man.  I think Josh Morgan is a good bet to end up on the PS.  Thomas Clayton spent last season on the practice squad, but the signing of DeShaun Foster leaves him in a bad position, unless he can beat out Michael Robinson.  While he may be a more talented running back than Robinson, the team seems committed to turning Robinson into something of use.

In the end, the practice squad is much harder to project because you're inherently dealing with guys who are on the bubble as a whole.  Does the team want to keep some guys with a little NFL time around just in case, or do they go with young, fresh bodies?  For argument's sake I'll throw out 8 guys and wouldn't be surprised to get at least half of them wrong:

1. Josh Morgan, WR
2. Robert Jordan, WR
3. Shaun Richardson, LB
4. Louis Holmes, DE
5. Joe Cohen, DT
6. J.J. Finley, TE
7. Brian De La Puente, G
8. Thomas Clayton, RB

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