The 49ers dropped to 53 players on Saturday and named their starting quarterback for the season opener.
Coach Chip Kelly announced that Blaine Gabbert will lead the offense in Week One, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise given how much time he had with the first team while Colin Kaepernick was on the mend this offseason. Kaepernick, who Kelly said is No. 2 and will dress for games, and Christian Ponder join him on the depth chart while sixth-round pick Jeff Driskel was cut.
The 49ers acquired a new target for Gabbert as well. The team announced that they sent an undisclosed draft pick to the Chiefs for veteran Rod Streater, who joins Jeremy Kerley as recent trade acquisitions at the position. That wasn’t the only trade of the day as the Niners also sent safety L.J. McCray to the Seahawks for an undisclosed pick.
The rest of the players dropped from the roster are wide receivers Dres Anderson, Devon Cajuste, Ryan Whalen and DeAndre White; offensive linemen Alex Balducci, Fahn Cooper, Colin Kelly and Norman Price; defensive linemen Demetrius Cherry, B.J. McBryde and Garrison Smith; tight end Je’Ron Hamm; running backs DuJuan Harris and 2016 sixth-round pick Kelvin Taylor; cornerback Prince Charles Iworah; and linebackers Corey Lemonier and Shayne Skov.
In addition, wide receiver DeAndre Smelter was waived/injured and linebacker Aaron Lynch was placed on the reserve/suspended list.
