Shanahan Says Left Guard Is Close To Decided, And Thursday Is The Last Evidence He Gets

The 49ers play the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Thursday at 5 p.m. PT. KPIX CBS 5 carries it in the Bay Area, with a free in-market stream on 49ers.com and the 49ers App and NFL+ for anyone outside it. The club's two pages disagree on the radio call. Monday's Ways to Watch and Listen post lists KSFO (810 AM); the schedule page lists KNBR (680 AM / 104.5 FM). Both list The Bone (107.7 FM).

Kyle Shanahan does not expect to use his starters. "I don't think you'll see many starters," he said after Tuesday's practice, per David Bonilla at 49ers Webzone on August 25. "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." Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak calls the plays. The roster goes to 53 on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT, and Shanahan said the three days between are for evaluating the roster and the practice squad.

Nine numbers on the club's 89-man active roster are worn by two men each, counted off that page Thursday morning: 6, 7, 18, 29, 35, 43, 58, 67 and 75. Read the side of the ball before the digits.

The third quarterback job, which this game was always going to settle#

Brock Purdy, No. 13, Mac Jones, No. 10, Kurtis Rourke, No. 14, and Adrian Martinez, No. 4. All four are on the club's active roster, and the answer above covers the first two. The job actually in play is the third one, and Kubiak said this month it would kind of play itself out in the preseason games. Rourke was on Tuesday's did-not-practice list with a rib. He left the Tennessee game with it and the X-rays found no break; Martinez threw the rest of that night, 16 of 30 for 159 yards. If Rourke cannot go Thursday, the job gets settled by which man was available rather than by which man was better, and there is no more preseason to fix that.

Left guard, which the head coach says is nearly over#

Carver Willis, No. 74, and Connor Colby, No. 75. Willis is a rookie out of Washington, Colby a second-year man out of Iowa, and the club's own Day 17 recap names them as the competition. "It's close to being decided, and it needs to be close," Shanahan said Tuesday. "Today is the second-to-last day that we'll get to evaluate. We'll get it on the game." Kyle Posey at Niners Nation offered the test Wednesday: if Willis plays a half at left guard it is still open, and if Colby never gets a look on the left side it is finished. On the offensive line, 75 is Colby. James Thompson Jr. wears it on the defensive line.

Robert Jones, No. 65, is part of that competition and will not play. He has a calf injury; Austen Pleasants, No. 62, has a knee. Shanahan said both are expected back around the Australia trip and both get on the plane, per Posey.

Enrique Cruz Jr., No. 69, rookie. Posey has the tenth offensive line spot coming down to Cruz or Colby. This beat's board has both men inside and Pleasants outside, and Shanahan said Pleasants gets on the plane. The two versions do not reconcile.

Drake Nugent, No. 66, and Doug Kramer Jr., No. 58. Jake Brendel starts at center and Brett Toth, the projected backup, is in concussion protocol. Nugent and Kramer have been taking the snaps. Whichever takes the first-team center snaps Thursday is the likelier answer for Week 1. Kramer shares 58 with defensive lineman Quinton Bell.

The backfield, with nobody ahead of them#

Kaelon Black, No. 26, rookie. Indiana, and the club listed him as most likely to play a week ago at the Chargers.

Jordan James, No. 29, second year. Oregon, back from a rib injury and practicing Sunday and Tuesday. Safety Ashtyn Davis also wears 29.

Sincere McCormick, No. 35, third year. He scored from seven yards and broke a 37-yard run at the Chargers on August 20. Cornerback Ephesians Prysock also wears 35. Christian McCaffrey practiced Sunday and Tuesday, and the answer above covers the starters.

Receivers, short two men#

De'Zhaun Stribling, No. 15, rookie. He practiced Tuesday in a non-contact jersey and caught passes from both quarterbacks, per the club's recap. His availability is the first thing to check on the inactive list.

Jordan Watkins, No. 17, second year. He caught a 17-yard touchdown from Adrian Martinez at the Chargers and sits outside a room that keeps six. Jacob Cowing (groin) and Mike Evans (groin tightness) did not practice Tuesday and Shanahan expects both back next week, which leaves the snaps to be taken.

Defense, where one starting job is open#

Marques Sigle, No. 36, second year. The second safety spot next to Ji'Ayir Brown is unsettled with Malik Mustapha still working back from a hamstring injury. Sigle intercepted a tipped pass Tuesday. Jason Aponte at Niners Nation called the job anything but decided.

Jaden Dugger, No. 53, rookie. Louisiana, 6-foot-5, and the club listed him at linebacker while its Day 17 recap called him a safety. Nick Wagoner at ESPN wrote Wednesday that his length and speed should get him on the field early and often in nickel. He broke up a pass down the field Tuesday.

C.J. West, No. 99, second year, and James Thompson Jr., No. 75, rookie. West sat out the opener and then had a concussion, returning Sunday. Wagoner wrote that the absence opened a path for Thompson, an undrafted rookie out of Illinois.

The absence list, as roster facts#

Sidelined Tuesday, per the club: Nick Bosa (soreness), Gracen Halton (ankle), Romello Height (ankle), Christian Kirk (calf), Wesley Grimes (hand), Vederian Lowe (ankle), Kyle Juszczyk (finger), Luke Gifford (hamstring), Nate Hobbs (groin), Kurtis Rourke (rib), Renardo Green (hamstring), Nick Martin (hamstring) and Jalen Graham. Dominick Puni is likely to re-enter concussion protocol. Upton Stout has a hip flexor injury and is expected back next week. George Kittle has practiced in non-competitive periods only since his activation.