All 49ers

Will Eric Saubert Make the 49ers' 53-Man Roster?

Saubert certainly isn't getting better -- his career seems to be winding down. But now he has an opportunity to be George Kittle's backup.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 3, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Eric Saubert (81) runs with the ball
Dec 3, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Eric Saubert (81) runs with the ball | Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Raise your hand if you've heard of Eric Saubert.

The 49ers signed him on Monday. He's an NFL tight end. He has played for the Falcons, the Bears, the Jaguars, the Broncos, the Cowboys and the Texans -- he has been in the NFL since 2017. He's almost 30. And in his entire career, he has caught 36 passes. Last season, he caught three.

Saubert certainly isn't getting better -- his career seems to be winding down. But now he has an opportunity to be George Kittle's backup and the primary blocking tight end on a team that runs the ball a ton. The 49ers tried to sign Brock Wright to fill that position, but he returned to the Lions. So the 49ers signed Saubert instead. He has a real opportunity to play.

But that's if he even makes the 53-man roster. Right now, he seems like a roster placeholder until the 49ers draft a blocking tight end in a few weeks who will take Saubert's supposed role and spot on the team. Saubert is a veteran, but he has about as much of a chance to make the 49ers' final roster as an undrafted free agent rookie.

The 49ers clearly value their blocking tight end. That's why they offered Brock Wright a three-year, $12 million contract. Neither Saubert nor last year's third-round pick Cameron Latu is anywhere near that valuable, which means the 49ers could spend another draft pick on a tight end this year.

Don't get too attached to Saubert just yet. His tenure with the 49ers could be brief.

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News