Running back Trey Sermon. Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

49ers waive RB Trey Sermon

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Vincent Frank | Last updated 8/31/22

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. Initially, it seemed that he would play an important role in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. But that never materialized for Sermon as a rookie.

Now, his career in San Francisco is done after just one season. ESPN's Field Yates reports that San Francisco has waived the young running back to make room for offensive lineman Blake Hance, a waiver wire pickup.

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.

There’s a reason San Francisco has made two NFC Championship Game appearances in three seasons. Led by general manager John Lynch, the team has drafted well. That wasn’t the case with Sermon, however, who the 49ers moved up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select.

Despite the overall good drafting, San Francisco has had its fair share of misses under Lynch despite adding stars like Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Fred Warner. Sermon now joins that growing list of misses.

Trey Sermon stats (2021): 41 attempts, 167 yards, 4.1 average, one touchdown

Mason, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, 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.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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