49ers training camp: A 53-man roster projection with an updated salary cap

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 05: Jordan James #29 of the San Francisco 49ers catches a pass during practice at training camp at SAP Performance Facility on August 05, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

With the San Francisco 49ers reporting for training camp, I’ve made the decision to re-join the Niners Nation family to write salary cap articles once again. Today we’re going to begin with a look at where the 49ers currently stand with the 2026 salary cap, along with my look at their 2027 salary cap situation and my 53-man roster projection.

Right now, the 49ers are $70,735,204 under their $340,190,324 adjusted salary cap. Which means they, as of now, can spend up to the $340,190,324 on player salaries for 2026, and it will go up to $341,169,524 once the NFL stops counting miscellaneous workout bonus money that only counts during the offseason.

This total is a combination of the base $301.2 million salary cap for 2026, a $19,313,886 carryover from 2025, and $20,655,638 in adjustments/credits, which are a combination of unearned per game roster bonuses, guaranteed base salaries from both veterans, and undrafted free agents, as well as any credits from injury insurance policies that were taken out by the 49ers, so they can spend up to the $341,169,524 for 2026.

As of right now the 49ers have 93 players signed for 2026, of course must trim that down to 53 players before they head to Australia when they open the 2026 season against the Los Angeles Rams, and below are the current 93 players, with their current salary cap number for 2026.

The cap number for each player on the current roster

QB 13 Brock Purdy(2030)- $23,709,530

DE 97 Nick Bosa(2028)- $22,990,988

LT 71 Trent Williams(2027)- $20,012,845

MLB 54 Fred Warner(2029)- $17,865,471

TE 85 George Kittle(2029)- $14,147,529

WR 11 Brandon Aiyuk(2028)- $13,665,790

RB 23 Christian McCaffrey(2027)- $10,856,472

CB 2 Demmodore Lenoir(2029)- $8,870,000

RT 68 Colton McKivitz(2028)- $5,823,555

DE 98 Mykel Williams(2028)- $5,424,238

DT 92 Osa Odighizuwa(2028)- $5,122,000

WR 5 Mike Evans(2028)- $4,250,000

FS 27 Ji’Ayir Brown(2026)- $3,905,055

WLB 57 Dre Greenlaw(2026)- $3,550,000

TE 89 Luke Farrell(2027)- $3,514,000

WR 1 Ricky Pearsall(2027)- $3,419,563

CB 22 Nate Hobbs(2026)- $3,380,000

C 64 Jake Brendel(2026)- $3,140,000

QB 10 Mac Jones(2026)- $3,130,000

WR 3 Christian Kirk(2026)- $2,960,000

FB 44 Kyle Juszyczk(2026)- $2,896,000

WR 7 Demarcus Robinson(2026)- $2,701,867 LG/C 78 Brett Toth(2026)- $2,500,000

WR 15 De’Zhaun Stribling(2029)- $2,432,134

NT 95 Alfred Collins(2028)- $2,342,478

LT/RT 76 Vederian Lowe(2027)- $2,292,000

DE 91 Sam Okuayinonu(2026)- $2,280,000

TE 88 Jake Tonges(2027)- $2,058,000

SLB 51 Luke Gifford(2027)- $1,972,000

PK 18 Eddy Piñeiro(2029)- $1,951,000

FS 29 Ashtyn Davis(2026)- $1,880,000

DE 56 Keion White(2026)- $1,812,297

CB 33 Siran Neal(2026)- $1,750,000

CB 0 Renardo Green(2027)- $1,742,693

LG/RG 65 Robert Jones(2026)- $1,665,000

RG 77 Dominick Puni(2027)- $1,554,695

WLB 45 Nick Martin(2028)- $1,491,288

CB 20 Upton Stout(2028)- $1,400,269

DE 94 Romello Height(2029)- $1,325,510

LS 46 Jon Weeks(2026)- $1,262,500

SS 6 Malik Mustapha(2027)- $1,259,734

NT 99 C.J. West(2028)- $1,257,773

DE/DT 96 Cameron Sample(2026)- $1,253,500

RB 31 Isaac Guerendo(2027)- $1,251,132

RB 26 Kaleon Black(2029)- $1,241,686

CB 28 Darrell Luter Jr.(2026)- $1,223,378

WR/PR 19 Jacob Cowing(2027)- $1,207,177

DT 93 Gracen Halton(2029)- $1,195,206

WR/PR 17 Jordan Watkins(2028)- $1,171,454

LG/RG 74 Carver Willis(2029)- $1,152,498

P 7 Corliss Watiman(2026)- $1,150,000

TE 9 Brayden Willis(2026)- $1,145,000

WLB 41 Jalen Graham(2026)- $1,145,000

RB 29 Jordan James(2028)- $1,114,921

FS/SS 36 Marques Sigle(2028)- $1,105,594

MLB 48 Tatum Bethune(2027)- $1,095,452

CB 35 Ephesians Prysock(2029)- $1,082,259

C/LG 63 Nick Zakelj(2026)- $1,075,000

CB 30 Eli Apple(2026)- $1,075,000

WR 81 Malik Turner(2026)- $1,075,000

RT 60 Brandon Parker(2026)- $1,075,000

WR 84 Colton Dowell(2026)- $1,075,000 LT/RT 62 Austen Pleasants(2026)- $1,075,000

RB 32 Patrick Taylor Jr.(2026)- $1,075,000

MLB 49 Garret Wallow(2026)- $1,075,000

CB 25 Jack Jones(2026)- $1,075,000

LG/RG 75 Connor Colby(2028)- $1,030,418

SLB 53 Jaden Dugger(2029)- $1,010,837

DE 50 Andrew Farmer II(2026)- $1,005,000

DT 55 Sebastian Valdez(2026)- $1,005,000

DE 69 William Bradley-King(2026)- $1,005,000

QB 4 Adrian Martinez(2026)- $1,005,000

TE 83 Hayden Rucci(2026)- $1,005,000

SS/FS 24 Patrick McMorris(2026)- $1,005,000

RB 35 Sincere McCormick(2026)- $1,005,000

TE, Tanner McLachlan(2026)- $1,005,000

RT/LT 69 Enrique Cruz Jr.(2029)- $979,869

QB 14 Kurtis Rourke(2028)- $918,559

WR/PR 4 Will Pauling(2028)- $895,000

DT 75 James Thompson Jr.(2028)- $895,000

NT 63 Bryson Eason(2028)- $893,333

CB 43 Jakob Robinson(2027)- $891,666

P 14 Jack Bouwmeester(2028)- $890,000

FS/SS 38 Jalen Stroman(2028)- $888,333

WR 18 Wesley Grimes(2028)- $888,333

SLB 47 Larry Worth III(2028)- $885,000

WR/KR/PR 86 Junior Bergen(2026)- $885,00

C 66 Drake Nugent(2026)- $885,000

FS 40 Derrick Canteen(2026)- $885,000

DE 58 Mikail Kamara(2026)- $885,000

RT/LT 67 Isaac Alarcón(2026)- $885,000

SS 29 Darrick Forrest(2026)- $565,000

TE 82 Khalil Dinkins(2028)- $524,166

As we know, Dinkins was recently waived with a non-football injury.

As for 2027, the 49ers currently have 51 players signed, with them accounting for $354,177,295, along with $15,111,601 in dead money, for a total of $369,288,896 committed for 2027, putting them $39,288,896 over a projected $330 million salary cpa for 2027, but that doesn’t take into account when they do release Brandon Aiyuk, which will save the team $21,176,210 in cap room for 2027, which would put them $18,112,686 over the projected $330 million salary cap, so any amount of the 49ers current $70.735 million that they have will help in 2027.

53-man roster projection

Below is my projected 53-man roster, along with their practice squad, any injured players, as well as what their salary cap situation would look like for both 2026 and 2027.

OFFENSE:

QB(3): 13 Brock Purdy(2030) 10 Mac Jones(2026) 14 Kurtis Rourke(2028)

RB(3): 23 Christian McCaffrey(2027) 29 Jordan James(2028) 26 Kaleon Black(2029)

FB(1): 44 Kyle Juszyczk(2026)

WR(6): 5 Mike Evans(2028) 1 Ricky Pearsall(2027) 3 Christian Kirk(2026) 15 De’Zhaun Stribling(2029) 17 Jordan Watkins(2028) 19 Jacob Cowing(2027)

TE(2): 88 Jake Tonges(2027) 89 Luke Farrell(2027)

LT(2): 71 Trent Williams(2027) 76 Vederian Lowe(2027)

LG(2): 65 Robert Jones(2026) 74 Carver Willis(2029)

C(2): 64 Jake Brendel(2026) 78 Brett Toth(2026)

RG(2): 77 Dominick Puni(2027) 75 Connor Colby(2028)

RT(2): 68 Colton McKivitz(2028) 69 Enrique Cruz Jr.(2029)

DEFENSE:

DE(5): 98 Nick Bosa(2028) 91 Sam Okuyainonu(2026) 56 Keion White(2026) 94 Romello Height(2029) 96 Cameron Sample(2026)

DT(2): 92 Osa Odighizuwa(2028) 93 Gracen Halton(2029)

NT(2): 95 Alfred Collins(2028) 99 C.J. West(2028)

WLB(2): 57 Dre Greenlaw(2026) 45 Nick Martin(2028)

MLB(2): 54 Fred Warner(2029) 48 Tatum Bethune(2027)

SLB(2): 51 Luke Gifford(2027) 53 Jaden Dugger(2029)

CB(5): 2 Demmodore Lenoir(2029) 0 Renardo Green(2027) 20 Upton Stout(2028) 22 Nate Hobbs(2026) 35 Ephesians Prysock(2029) 33 Siran Neal(2026)

FS(2): 27 Ji’Ayir Brown(2026) 29 Ashtyn Davis(2026)

SS(2): 6 Malik Mustapha(2027) 36 Marques Sigle(2028)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

PK(1): 18 Eddy Piñeiro(2029) P(1): 14 Jack Bouwmeester(2028) LS(1): 46 Jon Weeks(2026)

PUP:

RB 31 Isaac Guerendo(2027) TE 85 George Kittle(2029) DE 98 Myikel Williams(2028)

NFI:

TE 82 Khalil Dinkins(2028)

INJURED RESERVE:

SS 29 Darrick Forrest(2026)

PRACTICE SQUAD:

RB 32 Patrick Taylor Jr.* WR 4 Will Pauling WR 18 Wesley Grimes WR 86 Junior Bergen TE 9 Brayden Willis* C 63 Nick Zakelj* LT 62 Austen Pleasants RT 67 Isaac Alarcón** DE 58 Mikail Kamara DT 55 Sebastian Valdez DT 75 James Thompson Jr. NT 63 Bryson Eason MLB 49 Garret Wallow* SLB 47 Larry Worth III CB 25 Jack Jones* CB 43 Jakob Robinson FS 38 Jalen Stroman

CUTS:

QB 4 Adrian Martinez RB 35 Sincere McCormick WR 11 Brandon Aiyuk WR 7 Demarcus Robinson WR 81 Malik Turner WR 84 Colton Dowell TE 83 Hayden Rucci TE, Tanner McLachlan C 66 Drake Nugent RT 60 Brandon Parker DE 50 Andrew Farmer II DE 69 William Bradley-King WLB 41 Jalen Graham CB 30 Eli Apple CB 28 Darrell Luter Jr. FS 40 Derrick Canteen SS 24 Patrick McMorris P 7 Corliss Waitman

With this roster, the 49ers would have 75 players signed for 2026, accounting for $229,449,045, with $53,506,304 in dead money, a total of $283,005,349, putting them $58,164,175 under their $341,169,524 adjusted salary cap, and they’d be able to carryover at least $53,164,175 of that into 2027.

As for 2027, they’d have 42 players signed with this roster, accounting for $305,140,838, along with $34,486,850 in dead money, a total of $339,627,688, putting them just $9,627,688 over a projected $330 million salary cap, but that’s with 42 players signed, and with enough to account for 51 player signed, they’d be $17,997,688 over that projected $330 million salary cap.

And when we add in the projected $53,164,175 in carryover from 2026, they’d be $43,536,487 under a projected adjusted salary cap of $383,163,175 , but that’s with 42 players signed.

And with 51 players signed they’d be $35,166,487 under that $383,163,175 projected adjusted salary cap, so there wouldn’t be any issue with their salary cap, plus they can create over $83.5 million in cap room from the following players, Brock Purdy($8.032 million), Christian McCaffrey($12.404 million), Nick Bosa($25,067,200), Osa Odighizuwa($14.992 million), Fred Warner($11.164 millon), & Deommodore Lenoir($11.872 million), so they can create a ton of cap room, but I don’t expect them to do anywhere near that much, but it’s a good thing to have, because even if you don’t use all of that money saved, you can always carry it over into the next season, which can help out.

So, as you can see, the 49ers aren’t in, nor will they be in cap hell any time soon, so for those worried, please don’t, it’s not an issue at all, and the impending release of Brandon Aiyuk will save the 49ers $79.387 million over the next 4 seasons, broken down as $1.315 million in 2026, $21,176,210 in 2027, $42,350,790 in 2028, and $14.545 million in 2029.

And with that said, I thank everyone who read this, and I will be continuing to write for NinersNation for the foreseeable future, and you can follow me on X/Twitter @49erscap, and please visit 49erscap.com for all of my salary cap tables, and all contract information for all of the 49ers players.