The Trey Sermon experience in San Francisco is over after just one season. On Wednesday, the 49ers waived the second-year running back, a move that comes a day after the club was required to trim down the roster to 53 players before Tuesday's deadline. According to ESPN, Sermon's release was made to create room for former Browns guard Blake Hance, whom they claimed earlier in the day.
Sermon came into the NFL with a lot of hype after being a third-round pick of San Francisco in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. However, that hype didn't translate into production at the NFL level. He began his rookie year behind Raheem Mostert and Elijah Mitchell on the depth chart and failed to separate himself when given an opportunity. In nine games played, he rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown while catching three of his four targets for 26 yards.
This preseason, Sermon rushed for just 39 yards over the course of three games but did recently receive praise from GM John Lynch, which does make his release a bit surprising, especially after surviving cutdown day.
With Sermon gone, that creates more opportunity for Jeff Wilson, Tyrion Davis-Price, and Jordan Mason, who are all slated to back up starter Elijah Mitchell, who led the team with 963 yards on 207 carries last season.