Head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed on Thursday that the 49ers are planning joint practices with both the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers ahead of their preseason matchups. The Titans are San Francisco's lone home opponent during the preseason, while the Chargers will host the 49ers in Southern California.
Although the 49ers will not face the Titans during the regular season, they are scheduled to play the Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Week 15. Shanahan said the upcoming regular-season matchup will not affect how the teams approach their preseason practices together.
"You stay pretty vanilla," Shanahan explained. "You're not scheming and stuff and doing stuff in practice. It's just more getting guys a chance to go against a couple of different things than they usually go against."
49ers' plans for Australia game
The 49ers will open the 2026 regular season with an international matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. The trip presents a major logistical challenge, with Melbourne more than 7,800 miles from San Jose and a travel time of roughly 19 hours.
According to Shanahan, the 49ers are aiming to arrive in Australia about seven days before kickoff to help players and staff adjust to the significant time-zone difference. That means leaving the Bay Area even earlier.
"I think we leave on Wednesday and land on a Friday," Shanahan said. "And so, then, we get there about seven days before our game. I think it's ... Friday morning Australian time, Thursday here."
49ers' plans for Mexico City game
The 49ers are also continuing to finalize plans for their second international game of the season—a Week 11 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in Mexico City.
Shanahan emphasized that the biggest concern for that trip is adjusting to the altitude.
"The main thing with Mexico City is it's 2,000 miles higher than Denver, and so we like to get adjusted to that altitude," Shanahan said. "So, we'll probably go to Colorado Springs again, like we did last time, to get ready for that altitude, and then probably go to Mexico City the night before."
Will the 49ers head directly to Colorado Springs following their Week 10 road game against the Dallas Cowboys?
"We haven't decided that yet, but most likely," Shanahan said. "The Mexico City trip will probably be a longer one than the Australia one, just because of that."
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