49ers add Khalil Herbert, Titus Leo amid final roster adjustments

The San Francisco 49ers made several roster adjustments on Sunday, a common feature of the NFL’s late preseason roster churn as teams finalize depth charts and prepare for the regular season. According to the report, the club signed running back Khalil Herbert and defensive lineman Titus Leo to its 90-man roster.

The additions matter in a straightforward way: both signings create more competition for playing time at positions that often get opportunities in the preseason. Herbert, listed as a running back, gives the 49ers another option behind their top backs, while Leo, a defensive lineman, adds to the group that has to rotate through defensive series and handle the heavy snap volume of early-season football.

Alongside those signings, the 49ers made two other moves that reflect the difficult roster math teams face. Defensive lineman Mikail Kamara was waived with an injury designation, which typically indicates a separation process tied to the player’s health status rather than a clean baseball-style release. Cornerback Eli Apple was released outright, reducing the number of players in the secondary the team would be carrying as it sorts through final cuts.

These transactions take place against the backdrop of the NFL’s 90-man roster structure, where clubs can carry a larger group before narrowing down. As the deadline to reach the final regular-season roster approaches, decisions like signing fresh bodies and trimming others are usually driven by a combination of practice performance, availability, and fit within the team’s scheme, especially for starters who need reliable backups at every position.

For San Francisco specifically, the moves also show a continuing emphasis on building depth along both sides of the ball. Defensive line rotation is a recurring need because of the pace and physical demands of the position. Meanwhile, at running back, depth can become particularly important when teams want to keep players fresh through training camp and the preseason’s shorter practice windows.

What to watch next is whether Leo and Herbert quickly settle into roles the 49ers can use right away, whether that is rotational snaps, special teams responsibilities, or matchup-specific packages. On the other end, the Kamara injury designation and Apple’s release are reminders that availability and roster fit can change rapidly this time of year.

At this stage, more details such as subsequent procedural outcomes for players waived with injury designations, and how quickly new signings translate into actual preseason playing time, are not included in the current report. Additional confirmation from team transaction logs or league records would help clarify those downstream roster implications.