Ambry Thomas Making the 49ers Final 53-Man Roster Looks Bleak
Time to hit the panic button for Ambry Thomas.
The second-year cornerback who started multiple games for the 49ers during their playoff run is in danger of missing the final roster cuts. Thomas has struggled throughout training camp and now that he is nursing an injury, his chances to make a case to be retained are diminishing. Kyle Shanahan possibly foreshadowed that Thomas making the team is unlikely.
"I just want to see him battle to make the team," Kyle Shanahan said at his Tuesday press conference. "The same with D-Mo (Deommodore Lenoir), the same with all of those guys. After our starting two guys, we've got some guys really competing, that could go any way. I know Ambry wants to get out there and compete, but unfortunately he hasn't been healthy. He tried as hard as he could to go last week -- he definitely couldn't. That's pretty obvious because he won't be able to go this week too. We'll holdout hope that he'll be able to go against Houston, but unfortunately he's been hurt right now."
Thomas making the 49ers final 53-man roster looks bleak.
It doesn't sound like, barring a magical recovery, Thomas will be able to go in the game against Houston on Thursday. He needs that game to just showcase something, literally anything to convince Shanahan to keep him aboard. It didn't sound like Shanahan wants Thomas to miss the cuts, but that his health (and also lackluster performances) is forcing his hand.
Thomas is also being hurt by the admirable performances of Deommodore Lenoir and Samuel Womack III. While these two are heavily involved as nickel corners, the 49ers will only keep so many cornerbacks. Thomas is looking more and more like the odd man out. Cutting him would be understandable by the 49ers. He's simply not available and when he has been, he just hasn't done enough to make a convincing argument to make it. The fact that other plays have looked sweet is just making him expendable.
I fully expect Thomas to get cut with the 49ers attempting to put him on the practice squad. At that point, they're going to have their fingers crossed he doesn't get claimed by another team and passes through waivers. There is a decent chance he passes the full round since he isn't available right now. Then again, some cornerback desperate team could just take a flyer to see. Depth at corner is always lacking for a handful of teams, so Thomas being a starter for multiple games for a playoff defense could be intriguing for another team.
This is a risk the 49ers have to take as Thomas just isn't worth the roster spot right now.
