Not every starter will be on the Levi's Stadium football field when the San Francisco 49ers host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. We know quarterback Brock Purdy won't be out there, no matter how much he wishes he was.
The game doesn't mean anything for the 49ers. Their playoff position as the top seed in the NFC won't be impacted by the outcome of this weekend's game. They secured home-field advantage and a first-round bye, which is significant for the team's Super Bowl aspirations.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel, linebacker Fred Warner, and pass rusher Nick Bosa have all said that they expect to play this week. However, that decision ultimately lies with head coach Kyle Shanahan, so we may only know for sure on Sunday afternoon.
According to general manager John Lynch, one player who will likely be out there when the offense takes the field for the start of the game is veteran offensive tackle Trent Williams.
"Trent's in good health right now," Lynch noted Friday morning on Bay Area radio station KNBR's "Murph and Markus" show.
Regarding the status for Sunday of his future Hall of Fame offensive lineman, the general manager added, "As to whether he'll play, I think we intend on playing Trent early in this game and seeing where that goes, and Trent's all for it. Trent's done tremendous. He's in really good health, and he understands and trusts in Kyle and our coaching staff that we're going to put him and the rest of his teammates in the best possible position."
Ideally, the 49ers would prefer to rest more of their starters. However, the logistics of doing that for all 22 starters means struggling to field a team against the Rams and overworking key role players while doing so. The coaching staff has been grappling with these decisions this week, knowing they can't rest everyone.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.