It has been a rollercoaster ride for running back Trey Sermon since the San Francisco 49ers made him a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. At least initially, it seemed that he would play an important role in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. That never materialized for Sermon as a rookie.
Now, his career in San Francisco could be done after just one season. Multiple media reports indicate that San Francisco has waived the young running back to make room for waiver-wire addition, offensive lineman Blake Hance.
To say that this is surprising would be an understatement. Sermon initially made San Francisco’s 53-man roster on Tuesday, joining the likes of Elijah Mitchell and Jeff Wilson Jr. as well as rookies Ty Davis-Price and Jordan Mason. It seemed his job was safe. Obviously, that’s not the case.
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Trey Sermon: One of the few San Francisco 49ers draft busts
There’s a reason San Francisco has made two NFC Championship Game appearances in three seasons. Led by general manager John Lynch, the team continues to draft well. That wasn’t the case with Sermon when the 49ers moved up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select the former Oklahoma and Ohio State standout running back.
With that said, San Francisco has had its fair share of misses under Lynch despite adding the likes of stars Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Fred Warner. Sermon now joins that growing list.
- Trey Sermon stats (2021): 41 attempts, 167 yards, 4.1 average
An undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, Mason seemingly earned a roster spot over Sermon after performing well in the preseason. This move also comes after San Francisco’s brass showered praise in Sermon’s direction earlier in the summer.
“Yeah, I was real happy with Trey. There were things that we wanted him to improve on from last year. He’s shown that in training camp every single day that he’s got the opportunity to, and I thought he did the same thing last night.”
Kyle Shanahan on Trey Sermon after preseason opener
There’s always a chance that Sermon returns to the 49ers. He’s subjected to waivers. If no other team adds him to their 53-man roster, a spot on San Francisco’s practice squad could be in the cards.