SANTA CLARA — The 49ers played their fourth and final preseason game on Thursday night. They lost, but nothing that happened in the game really mattered. If you watched or even heard tell of it, go ahead and Forget it ever happened.
I only mention the meaningless preseason finale because it was the last checkpoint before a truly important date on the 49ers’ calendar: cut day.
The NFL used to mandate that 90-man rosters were cut down to 75 before reaching their final 53-man form — there was a progression to it all — but last year, the league cut that rule, meaning that on Saturday, the Niners will cut down their roster — which stood at 88 men Thursday — by 35.