The third and final preseason game will be the dress rehearsal for the San Francisco 49ers. That typically means that the starters play more than usual for an exhibition game. It could mean staying on the field for the entire first half before the backups take over after halftime.
Several players expected to be starters this season have yet to take a preseason snap. Twenty-two players were ruled out against the Kansas City Chiefs. Twenty were ruled out this past weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers. Many of those aren't necessarily because of injuries, though. The 49ers are being cautious with many of their stars. Given what happened last season with injuries, you certainly can't blame them.
The lengthy list of sidelined players has included some big names like tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner. What's the plan for them this weekend?
"Right now, my plan is to use them," Shanahan told reporters today via a conference call. "It's still early, though. I mean, we just reviewed the game tape today. We're giving the players tomorrow off. We're going to get a normal week of practice in Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
"Stuff could always change based off of practice and how it goes, but, for the most part, I'd like to get everyone playing a little bit."
So, assuming things go as planned, we could see the preseason debut of several 49ers starters on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders at Levi's Stadium.