The San Francisco 49ers starters got some playing time during last week's preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers after sitting out the preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans. That will likely be the only significant action the starters see this preseason.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters Tuesday after the 49ers held their final full practice of training camp. He revealed the team's plan for Thursday's preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"I don't think you'll see many starters," Shanahan shared. "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 (the first preseason game against the Titans) was."
That means the 49ers should be well-rested heading into the start of the regular season. After facing the Raiders, the team will turn its attention toward preparing for its Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
Shanahan also revealed that he won't be calling plays during the 49ers' preseason game against the Raiders. That responsibility will once again fall to offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, the younger brother of Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak.
As for who will call plays against the Rams in Week 1, Shanahan said the responsibility will "most likely" fall to him. The interesting word choice leaves the door open for Kubiak to potentially handle those duties. However, it will probably be Shanahan.
The 49ers' lengthy trip to Australia
Regarding the trip to Australia, Shanahan acknowledged the challenges involved in getting players healthy enough to make the journey.
The 49ers have dealt with several injuries throughout training camp and the preseason. Fortunately, most aren't considered long-term concerns. Still, with the roster banged up, preparing for a lengthy international trip could be challenging.
"Guys still trying to recover to get there, the plane flight and things like that," Shanahan explained. "But once you do get there and stuff, we're going to have fun playing in another country. It's going to be a cool atmosphere, things like that. That'll all be good.
"But right now, I'm just thinking of the challenges of getting our team ready for those three and a half hours."
The 49ers will be heading to Australia well before their Week 1 matchup, while the Rams plan to travel much later. Shanahan said he's relying on others' experiences and available research to determine the best approach for the lengthy trip.
"You ask people who've done it a number of times," Shanahan said. "You ask people who study it. You take all their opinions in. When you've got a 19-hour flight, and it's a 16-hour-something difference ... it's a big adjustment on the body.
"So, the recommendation for everybody has been to tell us when to go, and it's made a lot of sense. And I know how our players feel also. I was a little bit on the fence. Science wasn't, on what I was [told], and our players weren't at all. So that helped me get off the fence."
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