SANTA CLARA — Jonathan Cooper knew it was odd for a veteran guard to play every snap of an exhibition finale, and while he appreciated that and other opportunities from the 49ers, he spoke afterward Thursday night about his inevitable fate.
The 49ers released Cooper as they whittled their roster to the 53-man limit Saturday, NFL Network first reported.
A surgically repaired knee kept Cooper from fully entering the right-guard competition, perhaps the only starting job up for grabs this year. He missed offseason workouts, and once training camp began, his knee didn’t cooperate until the last couple weeks while Mike Person hogged first-team reps and Joshua Garnett resurfaced.