It’s game day for the San Francisco 49ers, following a spirited joint practice with Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers. Regardless of your feelings about how the joint practice went, the 49ers left without serious injuries and head into tonight’s preseason matchup set to play “some starters
.” Which starters and for how long is anyone’s guess, but we’re approaching the stretch run ahead of cutdown day.Here are three things to watch tonight:
Will someone take control of the left guard spot?
Robert Jones, Connor Colby, and Carver Willis have all mixed in at left guard during training camp, but according to reports, the 49ers are no closer to naming a starter. Even worse, nobody has separated themselves or been particularly impressive. Naming a starter will help build continuity on the offensive line, but it doesn’t solve the spot.
Will the 49ers choose someone in the building or explore options outside via trade or wait for cutdown day to bring in a veteran? No matter how you slice it, left guard has to be a concern for the team and any fan.
The safety position
All the good vibes after the joint practice and preseason game against the Titans are gone for the safety positions. With a few clips from the joint practice against Justin Herbert and the Chargers, safety has made safety a concern. One has to wonder: will we see Ji’Ayir Brown and Marques Sigle a lot tonight, in an effort to clear up the position?
While the starting cornerbacks have received good reviews, the two safety spots still need, and tonight could go a long way toward instilling confidence in the position.
The WR battle
We’ve seen enough. De’Zhaun Stribling is a mix of Terrell Owens and Randy Moss and is ticketed for a gold jacket. Mike Evans won’t go tonight after dealing with a small injury in the joint practice. That leaves Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, and Will Pauling fighting for two spots after Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel. We haven’t seen Christian Kirk, but Kyle Shanahan did say how much he loves Kirk; if he can’t get on the field, what does it matter?
The battle between Watkins, Cowing, and Pauling is interesting, as the winner of the spot will have to play special teams in some capacity. It feels like Cowing is in a make-or-break spot, with Watkins impressing in the preseason opener. Pauling has received good reviews, but could be slotted for a practice squad spot unless he shows out tonight.
