49ers to waive former third-rounder RB Trey Sermon

The Oklahoma and Ohio State product only topped 1,000 scrimmage yards once in his four-year college career. However, his 870 rushing yards (on an average of 7.5 per carry) with the Buckeyes in 2020 helped boost his draft stock. The 49ers selected him in the third round – having traded up to do so – adding another back to Kyle Shanahan‘s well-known committee system.

As a rookie, the 23-year-old started just two of the nine games he played in. He turned 41 carries into 167 yards and one touchdown, hardly the production which would be expected of such a highly-drafted back. The presence of Jeff Wilson and Elijah Mitchell left him with plenty of competition for touches in both the short- and long-term.

That became especially true when the 49ers took another third-round back this past April, drafting Tyrion Davis-Price. His addition spoke to the regard in which Sermon was held by the front office, although recent remarks from general manager John Lynch suggested that this move was unlikely.

“He worked incredibly hard and had a tremendous offseason,” Lynch said of Sermon last week (Twitter link via PFF’s Doug Kyed). “[It] hasn’t showed up in the games, but throughout training camp [he] has been one of our best players.”

Yates’ colleague Adam Schefter tweets that the 49ers waived Sermon to accommodate the arrival of former Browns guard Blake Hence, whom they claimed earlier Wednesday. Whether Sermon is able to return to San Francisco’s practice squad, or gets claimed by a team likely to have a larger workload to offer him will be worth watching.