SANTA CLARA -- One of the few pitfalls of being a successful NFL franchise is the annual stress of an incredibly tight roster crunch, which the 49ers will face in the coming weeks. Simply put, San Francisco has more NFL-caliber players than available roster spots, with athletes like linebacker Curtis Robinson further complicating the equation with a strong preseason performance.
While Robinson's growth is difficult to quantify due to a lack of traditional box score production to lean on, his evolution hasn't gone unnoticed by 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who revealed the young linebacker's strong preseason showing creates difficult decisions when San Francisco cuts its roster from 90 to 53 players before the regular season.
"Curtis just gets better each year," Shanahan said after Sunday's win. "He's been here for a while, helps out a lot on special teams, runs the show as the MIKE linebacker. I’ve really enjoyed having Curtis here and he gets better each week and I have some tough decisions here when it comes down to the end.”
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Robinson shined in the 49ers' 16-10 preseason win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, further cementing his case to be among San Francisco's final 53-man roster despite a logjam of talented players at the linebacker position.
Robinson is entering his third full 49ers campaign after San Francisco signed him to the practice squad as a rookie during the 2021 NFL season. The 26-year-old has suited up for just six regular-season games over the last two years, in large part due to the stockpile of proven veterans ahead of him on the 49ers' depth chart.
Despite the uphill climb, Robinson diligently found ways to improve his craft without getting consistent game reps, blossoming into a solid special teams contributor when called upon during the 2023 NFL season.
Robinson flashed against the run and the pass on Sunday against New Orleans, logging a tackle for loss, one pass breakup and one QB hit while consistently wreaking havoc near the line of scrimmage. It was the kind of standout performance that likely carries tremendous weight as the 49ers approach cutdown day.
San Francisco 49ers
Robinson isn't naive to the fact that his performance day in and day out will be under a microscope while the powers that be determine who will remain on San Francisco's final 53-man roster, but still, he remains committed to staying focused on what he can do to continue improving as he battles for a spot on the team.
"I'm just trying to control what I can control," Robinson told NBC Sports Bay Area after Sunday's win. "I've been working really hard trying to improve on the things that [linebackers coach Johnny Holland] has been telling me, all the people in the building have been telling me that I need to improve on. It feels good, it feels good. The game seems like it's slowing down a little bit, run game, pass game.
"It feels good that it's coming into fruition. It's one thing to do it in practice and feel good about it. But, to do it in a game, that's what's really important. So, just trying to finish out strong next week, you know, stay healthy. And obviously that's up to them, but I'm feeling good."
Robinson's evolution behind the scenes prompted the Tennessee Titans -- whose general manager is former 49ers executive Ran Carthon -- to offer the young linebacker a spot on their 53-man roster in December 2023, a significant promotion in both overall prestige and income compared to his practice-squad role with San Francisco.
Robinson weighed his options and ultimately decided to forego the opportunity with Tennessee, largely because he felt his best path to sustained success would come from staying the course with the 49ers, even knowing there wasn't a clear path to a permanent roster spot like the Titans were offering.
Despite the lack of playing time, Robinson notices the growth in his own game, which is reflected by his strong performance in both preseason games and training camp practices.
"It was a difficult decision, you know financially, that's a big difference," Robinson told NBC Sports Bay Area. "But, I've built a strong foundation here, and I love the group here. Johnny [Holland] obviously at the top. Guys like Fred [Warner], [Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Dre [Greenlaw]; they're the ones that have helped me out since I was a rookie.
"I've felt the development for myself. It hasn't necessarily translated into playing time yet, but I can tell that it's been useful to stay, and kind of learn under them ... I'm just trying to kind of let it translate on the field, and it feels good that it's finally starting to come to fruition."
What exactly is it about San Francisco and this group of linebackers that drove Robinson to bypass an opportunity at a solidified spot on Tennessee's roster, and instead continue the arduous climb from the 49ers' practice squad?
For Robinson, the opportunity to learn and embody the work ethic and daily habits of elite players like Warner and Greenlaw superceded any monetary gain from making the leap to the Titans' roster last season.
"I've been fortunate to be around a lot of great players, both in college and on other teams, but this is just the most consistent group I've ever been around," Robinson told NBC Sports Bay Area. "So intentionally detailed with how they approach everything, from the way they come in in the morning, the way they eat, the way they prepare for meetings, the way that they are in meetings, the way that they prepare for practice, the way that they deal with their recovery after practice.
"Everything is so consistent and so intentional that you almost have no choice but to follow their lead or else you're going to fall behind. For me, I learned that early on as a rookie and I've tried to instill that in my routine as much as possible. Like I said, I'm finally starting to see the results a little bit, but It's a testament to the people in front of me, I can't say that enough. They've shown me the way more than I could ask, so I'm grateful."
San Francisco kept six linebackers on its final 53-man roster for each of the last two seasons, and Robinson finds himself among seven healthy linebackers -- with Greenlaw on the PUP list for the foreseeable future -- vying for one of those coveted spots.
Fred Warner and De'Vondre Campbell are All-Pros who can be penciled in as locks to make the team. Dee Winters is an ascending second-year player who appears in good shape to secure a 53-man spot for the second consecutive season.
That leaves four players battling for the final three spots, creating an extremely difficult decision for Shanahan and the 49ers as one of Robinson, veteran Flannigan-Fowles, sophomore Jalen Graham and rookie seventh-round pick Tatum Bethune likely is left out of the mix.
Graham made the team as a rookie last season, and Flannigan-Fowles has appeared in 70 games for San Francisco over the last four seasons, with the latter also being a crucial special teams player with a wealth of experience in the third phase of football.
That likely leaves Robinson and Bethune battling for a final spot, further complicated by both players showing flashes during the 49ers' first two preseason games.
Robinson's years of experience within San Francisco's system should factor heavily into any potential decisions, and his recent strong play on the field signals the time has come to make the longtime practice squad player a mainstay in the 49ers' talented linebacker room.
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