By the time you read this, or soon after, we’ll have reached the point of the year directly before the madness starts: The cutdown to the 53-man roster and the associated practice squads. With questions at receiver and on the offensive line, something tells me that the San Francisco 49ers' business won’t be done by the close of play on Tuesday. Either way, it’s time to get ready for real football, and prepare to head to Seattle in Week 1.

Unlike many, being something of a football nerd, the preseason’s been fun for me. The emergence of Marques Sigle, the development of Nick Martin, and the rollercoaster that is Jake Moody have kept me busy, as well as writing and re-writing 53-man roster predictions. (Hot take: Chase Lucas won’t make the team ... let’s see how my batting average starts out!) Now the serious stuff begins, and there’s one thing I’d love to see the 49ers avoid in 2025.

It’s not injuries, although god knows the team can at times look like a M*A*S*H ward. Nope, it’s about conservatism. Relax, readers! I’m not getting political on you here. The NFL’s conservatism is calmer, quieter, and, at times, maddening.

What it means in NFL terms is simple. I would argue that almost every NFL coach is a slave to choosing the safe, unflashy, or less risky option. Whether it’s going for it on fourth down or attempting a game-winning two-point conversion, many coaches prefer to play it safe rather than take risks and aim to win.

Where this conservatism can also sneak in is in both roster and depth chart decisions, and the 49ers are no strangers to making either of those mistakes. The team’s continued love of "experience" on the offensive line over potential development pieces leaves me with no confidence that they will, for instance, keep Drew Moss over Nick Zakelj on the roster, despite the latter being significantly outplayed over the course of the preseason. In fact, when coupled with the release of Jarrett Kingston in the past, this would only be continuing a disappointing pattern.

Bottom of the roster churn aside, though, there’s also often an issue with the players the team chooses to put on the field. Kyle Shanahan’s infamous mistrust of rookie receivers meant that fans largely watched Ronnie Bell, who’s barely hanging on to a roster spot in the league, let alone a role on the field, throw away games for the team before he finally started bringing on the likes of Jacob Cowing. That doesn’t bode well for someone like Jordan Watkins, and it speaks to the stunted growth in past years of Dante Pettis, and–before he became a star–Brandon Aiyuk.

It’s maddening, but it’s something that permeates the entire staff. Anyone with a pair of eyes could tell you that Dominick Puni was the clear best guard on the team last offseason, yet we still had offensive line coach Chris Foerster making baffling comments about whether he could start, saying:

“Do you really want, even if Puni is the best player, is that the guy? Do you want him out there, Opening Day, Monday Night Football against the Jets? If he's the best player you do, but those are bright lights. Whereas opposed to Spence and Jon, who have done it.”

That "who have done it" line sums up the weirdly cautious approach the 49ers have to younger players. Puni did end up getting the start (after Burford and Jon Feliciano missed time injured), and went on to clearly be the team’s second-best offensive lineman. To think we were a player’s health away from not getting that is mind-boggling.

It also hurt the defense, with Nick Sorensen continuing to trot out the likes of De’Vondre Campbell and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, despite neither being anywhere near NFL-starter level or athletic enough to matter. Campbell was so bad he quit the team when he was finally benched after stinking out the place all season. Having to stay up til the early hours of the morning to watch those two lumber after opposing players while younger, "less proven" options like Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune sat on the bench was painful.

When people say "experience matters," the main thing that comes to mind for me is Randy Cross’ comment from the 1981 Americas Game: “We thought our experience was a plus ... our experience was a liability! We had baggage, they didn’t have any baggage,” when referring to the additions of Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson in 1981.

In a similar vein, 2025 has seen six defensive rookies drafted, and all six look set to or be capable of playing significant roles. Let them. Let’s have them learn on the field, be forged in the fire, and see what we might have. It may build Kyle Shanahan’s third great 49ers team.

I’m hopeful, as you should all be, that the return of Robert Saleh, as well as the freshness of feeling around the team, means a real changing of the guard. The key thing for the 49ers to do in 2025 is they must throw away the forces of conservatism. Do that, and not only will it be more fun to watch, but we might actually see some success, too.

Start Marques Sigle. He may be a little hit-and-miss in coverage right now, but he tackles better than any safety the 49ers have had in decades in the open field, and he knows how to find the ball. Ji’Ayir Brown may have tenure, but he’s gone so far backwards in the last few seasons that he could be clinging onto a roster spot.

Start Upton Stout. This one seems likeliest, because there’s not really anyone else to play nickel corner, or on the outside if Deommodore Lenoir moves there. Sadly, we didn't get to see any of him during the preseason due to injury, but we do know he can hit, cover, and blitz, and those skills should stand him in good stead with Robert Saleh. Any alternative would be a bottom-of-the-roster type (Chase Lucas, Darrell Luter Jr, et al) who would stand to be picked on by NFC West rivals.

Start CJ West. Alfred Collins is a work in progress, but West’s short, stubby build is perfect to stuff the run and even make some surprise noise in the passing game. Jordan Elliott and Kalia Davis are also in the mix, but West should hold one of the spots.

Trust the young wide receivers. This one may actually be forced on Kyle Shanahan, because the injury situation around the receiver room is frankly insane. That said, get the likes of Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing, and Jordan Watkins (when the latter two are healthy) on the field with regularity. They can all make plays, and while players like Russell Gage are nice stories, they don’t really move the needle when it counts.

Start Connor Colby, at least in Week 1. Puni’s injury may force this, but Colby has taken to the pro game excellently, If he continues to improve, don’t be afraid to put him ahead of Ben Bartch, either. The 49ers' failure to develop offensive line talent over the last decade is one of the major things that’s held the team back in the clutch (remember the missed block by Spencer Burford in the Super Bowl?), and they do it this year.

Cut Jake Moody. Okay, no one likes to admit they’ve made a mistake. Especially on yet another third-rounder. But Moody is a confidence player…and that’s not something a kicker should be. We’ve seen enough of him costing, or almost costing, the 49ers games. Let’s find an alternative before he blows a game that really matters.