The San Francisco 49ers are just one day away from their final game of the preseason before switching gears to their regular season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia.
Health has been a big question for the 49ers this Fall, with over 20 players dealing with injuries. That group has included Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, George Kittle, De’Zhaun Stribling, and more, with the hope that most will be back for Week 1.
Generally, the 49ers haven’t played many of their starters
in the final week of the preseason, instead viewing Week 2 as the time to trot their top players out for a couple of series. That will be the case again this year, as head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed he doesn’t intend to play many starters against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.
“I don’t think you’ll see many starters,” Shanahan said on Tuesday. “We just don’t have enough time as we usually do, so I’ll be surprised if any of them are out there. There might be a couple, but it will be closer to how Week 1 was.”
Back in Week 1, the only potential starters who played were defensive tackle Alfred Collins, safety Marques Sigle, wideout De’Zhaun Stribling, and left guard Carver Willis.
One battle that could be telling is the cornerback battle between Renardo Green and Jack Jones. Green did not play in the first preseason game and saw only nine snaps as a starter in the second, while Jones played a good amount in both.
But overall, it looks like the 49ers will be prioritizing rest ahead of their Week 1 matchup with the Rams, which will involve a lengthy trip to Australia.
Shanahan also noted that he won’t be calling plays once again against the Raiders. That duty has fallen to offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak over the past few years, and that has continued this offseason following the head coach’s car accident.
However, the head coach did say he’s ‘most likely’ going to be the playcaller for the season opener, indicating that it hasn’t been fully set in stone yet.
