- Position
- OT
- Number
- #74
- Age
- 24
- Pieces here
- 46
On the record
Called Shots →Connor Colby is listed as San Francisco's starting left guard in the official starting lineup of the 49ers' Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams on 2026-09-10. If Robert Jones, Carver Willis, Brett Toth or anybody else starts there, the take is scored wrong.
Kion Smith is NOT on the San Francisco 49ers' initial 53-man roster as announced by the club on 2026-08-30. If he is on that roster, the take is scored wrong. Being waived and re-signed to the practice squad does not count as being on the initial 53; the scoring document is the club's announced initial 53-man roster and nothing else.
San Francisco signs at least one of Doug Kramer, Joe Michalski or Lecitus Smith to its 90-man roster on or before 2026-08-12. Scored off the club's own transaction log at 49ers.com, with ESPN's 49ers transaction log as the second feed. A practice-squad agreement does not count, because there is no practice squad until after the August 30 cutdown; the claim is a signing to the active 90.
Robert Jones, not Connor Colby, takes the first offensive snap at left guard for the San Francisco 49ers in their preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans on 2026-08-13. Scored off the official game book's starting offensive lineup, with the first-drive participation reported by the beat as the second source. The take is WRONG if Colby, Carver Willis, Brett Toth or anyone else opens the game at left guard, and it is WRONG if Jones opens the game at any position other than left guard. If San Francisco does not play the game on August 13, the take voids rather than scores.
Robert Jones lines up at RIGHT guard, not left guard, on San Francisco's first offensive series of the August 20, 2026 preseason game at the Chargers. The take is CORRECT if the game book's starting offensive line has Jones at right guard. It is WRONG if he starts at left guard, if he starts anywhere else on the line, or if he does not appear in the game at all. A game San Francisco plays with no Robert Jones in it scores this Wrong; the risk of that is mine and it is stated here rather than argued afterwards.
Carver Willis is listed as San Francisco's starting LEFT guard in the official game book for the August 20, 2026 preseason game at the Los Angeles Chargers. The take is CORRECT if the game book's starting offensive line has Willis at left guard. It is WRONG if it names Connor Colby, Robert Jones or anybody else there, and WRONG if Willis does not appear in the game at all. The no-show risk is mine and it is stated here rather than argued afterwards.
Brett Toth is NOT on San Francisco's initial 53-man roster after the August 30, 2026 cutdown. The take is CORRECT if his name is absent from the club's published initial 53, including the cases where he is waived, released, waived/injured, placed on injured reserve, or reaches an injury settlement. It is WRONG if the club's published initial 53 contains his name, whatever his health designation.
In San Francisco's preseason finale at Las Vegas on August 27, 2026, Nick Zakelj plays MORE offensive snaps than Carver Willis. A player absent from the game book's Playtime Percentage page counts as zero, whether he is inactive, injured, or no longer on the roster. The take is CORRECT only if Zakelj's offensive snap count is strictly greater than Willis's. It is WRONG if Willis's is equal to or greater than Zakelj's, and that includes the case where both are zero.
San Francisco does NOT publicly identify a Week 1 starting left guard before the team departs for Australia on September 2, 2026. Public identification means either a 49ers coach naming the starter on the record at a media availability, or the club publishing an official depth chart that lists one man first at left guard. If either happens on or before the end of September 2 Pacific time, this is WRONG. If neither has happened, this is RIGHT.
Jarrett Patterson is NOT San Francisco's starting left guard in its Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams on September 10, 2026. The take is CORRECT if the official game book's lineup card names anybody other than Patterson at left guard, and WRONG if it names Patterson there.
On 2026-09-10, the depth chart published at 49ers.com/team/depth-chart still carries a "Last Updated" stamp dated EARLIER than 09/02/26. Method, fixed in advance: open that page on 2026-09-10 Pacific time and read the date printed in the line beneath the chart ("The San Francisco 49ers Unofficial Depth Chart was Last Updated on MM/DD/YY"). A stamp of 09/02/26 or later grades this WRONG. A page that does not load or prints no stamp grades this WRONG.
The San Francisco 49ers do NOT add a wide receiver from outside the organisation to either their active roster or their practice squad between 2:49 p.m. Pacific on September 16, 2026 and kickoff of their Week 3 game, 1:05 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, September 27, 2026. Any outside route scores the take WRONG: a free-agent signing, a waiver claim or a trade. Movement among men already under contract to San Francisco does not count, so promoting Wesley Grimes or Will Pauling from the practice squad, activating Christian Kirk from Reserve/Injured, or a standard game-day elevation all leave the take CORRECT. Position is taken from the club's own roster page: a man the club lists at WR is a receiver and a man it lists anywhere else is not.
Written about him
San Francisco won by 20 without a sack. Miami gave up five.
San Francisco hosts Miami at 1:25 p.m. Pacific on FOX in its home opener. The 49ers beat the Rams 27-7 in Melbourne without a sack, taking eight quarterback hits instead, four of them by Osa Odighizuwa. Miami lost 27-13 at Las Vegas behind Malik Willis, who was sacked five times. Eddy Piñeiro is questionable with an illness that cost him all three practices, and the club auditioned two kickers Saturday and signed neither. Ten men to watch, and the reason the first one is the kicker.
San Francisco Promoted A Fourth Tight End And Worked Out Three More
San Francisco promoted tight end Brayden Willis from the practice squad to the active roster on Tuesday morning and signed defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson to the practice squad. The promotion fills the roster spot Alfred Collins vacated on September 10 and puts the active roster back at 53. Hours later the NFL's transaction report showed the club had worked out five players, three of them tight ends. Jake Tonges, who played eight snaps in Melbourne before he was hurt, remains on the active roster with no injury designation and no published imaging result, and the club's Week 2 injury report does not exist yet. Willis has played 23 regular-season games, all with the 49ers, and has no career receptions.
George Kittle Started And Played 30 Snaps. Luke Farrell Did Not Start And Played 46.
The NFL's official game book for Week 1 puts George Kittle at 30 of San Francisco's 65 offensive snaps and 46 percent, Luke Farrell at 46 snaps and 71 percent, and Jake Tonges at eight snaps and 12 percent before he was hurt. Farrell also played 18 of the 49ers' 20 special-teams snaps, the highest special-teams snap share of any San Francisco player in the game. Kittle started; Farrell did not. Shanahan's postgame words on Tonges were an MCL with no timetable, and as of 2:50 p.m. Pacific Monday the club's transaction log still ends on September 10, Tonges is still on the active roster page, and the Week 2 injury report page carries no San Francisco table. The only other tight ends the club employs, Khalil Dinkins and Brayden Willis, are on the practice squad.
Fred Warner Is The 49ers' Career Tackle Leader, On The Column That Counts Assists
Fred Warner became San Francisco's all-time leading tackler in the second quarter of the season opener in Melbourne, passing Patrick Willis, who held the franchise record at 950. Warner entered the season at 948 and finished the game at 959 in 122 games. The record is kept on combined tackles, solo plus assisted, and on solo tackles alone Willis still leads him 733 to 602. Kyle Shanahan gave an MCL for Jake Tonges and an ankle for De'Zhaun Stribling with no timetable on either, and the club has filed no transaction on either man.
Nick Bosa And Christian McCaffrey Did No Drills In The Open Portion Of The First Melbourne Practice
Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey did not take part in drills during the portion of San Francisco's first Melbourne practice open to reporters, per Matt Maiocco at NBC Sports Bay Area and Matt Barrows at The Athletic. San Francisco plays the Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday at 5:35 p.m. Pacific. Reporters leave before team drills, and the club was not required to file a participation report, so what either man did after that is not public. Shanahan said the time difference meant he did not have to talk about injuries until the following day, and did not. George Kittle and Mike Evans practised. Barrows listed six men back from injury: Renardo Green, Romello Height, Jacob Cowing, Vederian Lowe, Gracen Halton and Luke Gifford. Five of the six who sat out the September 2 practice in Santa Clara are on that list; James Thompson Jr. is on no list either way. The club named eight captains, all eight returning from 2025, and Bosa and McCaffrey are two of them. Brayden Willis is back on the practice squad, which now sits at seventeen.
Connor Colby And Kaelon Black Fill The Two Jobs Shanahan Called Fluid
San Francisco's public depth chart carried an empty box at left guard from August 27 until this week. Read at 2:52 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, it is stamped 09/4/26 and lists Connor Colby first at left guard and Carver Willis second. It also lists Kaelon Black second at running back ahead of Jordan James, which is the other job Kyle Shanahan called fluid on August 31, and George Kittle and Nick Bosa as starters. Colby was the incumbent in July, was passed by Robert Jones and then by Willis in August, and is first again on the club's own page. Jarrett Patterson, traded for to compete at guard, is listed second at center. The chart predates three roster moves and has one empty box left, at long snapper. The first Melbourne practice is Sunday at 7:50 p.m. Pacific.
Sam Okuayinonu Went On Injured Reserve And The Long Snapper Came Up
San Francisco placed Sam Okuayinonu on injured reserve and signed defensive lineman Khalid Kareem to a one-year deal on Friday, and on Saturday, from Melbourne, signed long snapper Jon Weeks off its practice squad and waived tight end Brayden Willis. Two men off the 53, two on, and the count holds. Matt Maiocco reports Okuayinonu is out indefinitely with a foot injury sustained at Wednesday's practice in Santa Clara, and gives Kareem's two seasons under Raheem Morris in Atlanta as most of the reason he is the replacement. The Weeks signing closes a question that has been open since cut day: San Francisco carried no long snapper on its active roster for six days, and a practice-squad player may be elevated to a game-day roster no more than three times in a season. Kickoff at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is Thursday at 5:35 p.m. Pacific, which is Friday morning there.
The 49ers Have Two Depth Charts And Only One Of Them Has A Left Guard
The depth chart at 49ers.com carries twenty-nine position rows and a name in the first column of twenty-eight of them. Left guard is the twenty-ninth, its first column is empty, and the page stamps itself August 27, which was eight days ago. A separate one-page sheet dated September 2 lists Connor Colby first at left guard and Carver Willis second, and the club does not publish it: the media site its own pronunciation guide points to refuses a request from outside. Kyle Madson of Niners Wire reports that the sheet is assembled by the communications staff with no input from the coaches and binds nobody. Kyle Shanahan said on August 31 that he did not know who starts, and nothing since has replaced that. Seven of the seventy-two men still named on the club's live chart are on the September 2 sheet's injured reserve list, three of them offensive linemen.
Carver Willis Is The Only Name At Left Guard, And He Is Listed Second
The 49ers' published depth chart lists a first-team name at twenty-eight of its twenty-nine positions. Left guard is the twenty-ninth, and the only man in the row, Carver Willis, sits in the second column. Kyle Shanahan said Monday he does not know who starts there against the Rams on September 10, and gave the reason: the Thursday opener took away the three practices he normally decides on, and the club added Jarrett Patterson to the group. Connor Colby has six career starts, Patterson twenty-one, Willis none. San Francisco signed a fifth offensive lineman, Foster Sarell, to the practice squad on Tuesday afternoon.
Alfred Collins Is Named Once In The Entire Play-By-Play
The film-and-grades read of San Francisco's 18-12 win at Las Vegas on Thursday, player by player. Alfred Collins played 29 of 66 defensive snaps and appears once in the game book's play-by-play, on an assisted tackle. PFF's four lowest-graded 49ers defenders in the game all played defensive tackle, and both San Francisco sacks came from edge men. Enrique Cruz Jr. played all 61 offensive snaps at left tackle. Carver Willis graded last among the 22 San Francisco offensive players PFF graded, and the split behind it is run blocking rather than pass protection, which is what Willis himself has said the problem is. Khalil Herbert graded highest on offense on 12 snaps. Darrell Luter Jr. started at corner, played 51 snaps and graded second among all San Francisco defenders.
Carver Willis Graded Last Among The Linemen In The Game He Started
Carver Willis started at left guard against the Raiders and PFF's grades from the game, released Friday, rank him last among the 49ers' offensive linemen while giving Connor Colby the best pass-blocking grade of the night. The job is still open. San Francisco did not practice Friday and will not practice Saturday or Sunday, because Kyle Shanahan gave the team three days off after the finale, so the cut to 53 at 3 p.m. Pacific on Sunday falls inside them. The club reached an injury settlement with running back Patrick Taylor Jr. on Friday. Deion Jones, acquired Monday, graded first among all 49ers in the game. Jaden Dugger drew the highest pass-rushing grade on the team and Patrick Willis said so publicly.
Five Rookies Started And The Kicker Scored All Eighteen Points
The 49ers beat the Raiders 18-12 at Allegiant Stadium on Thursday night. Eddy Pineiro made all six of his field goals and scored every point San Francisco scored; neither team reached the end zone. The official game book lists five rookies in the starting lineup, three on offense: Carver Willis at left guard, Enrique Cruz Jr. at left tackle and Kaelon Black at running back. Cruz played all 61 offensive snaps and rookie safety Jalen Stroman played all 66 on defense. Jaden Dugger led the team with ten tackles, Jordan James played his first snaps of the preseason and drew a penalty that wiped out a touchdown, and Jordan Watkins ran, caught and returned. The roster is due at 53 on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PT.
Kurtis Rourke Has Three Broken Ribs And Does Not Play Tonight
Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Tuesday that Kurtis Rourke broke three ribs in the preseason opener, twelve days after the club said the X-rays taken in the stadium showed nothing broken and sent him to hospital for more imaging. Rourke does not play in Thursday's finale at Las Vegas and Adrian Martinez takes the last game of the third quarterback competition. Shanahan also named Christian Kirk and Vederian Lowe as candidates to open the regular season on injured reserve, a designation that costs each of them at least the first four games and costs San Francisco a roster spot on Sunday; said Dominick Puni is most likely back in the concussion protocol; put Nick Bosa, Jacob Cowing, Upton Stout and Mike Evans back at practice next week rather than this one; and left the left guard job to Connor Colby and Carver Willis with Robert Jones hurt. The club signed defensive lineman Jah Joyner on Thursday morning and placed Victor Dimukeje on injured reserve to make room.
Carver Willis Is Missing One Step, And It Is Picking His Position For Him
Carver Willis is 24, from Durango, Colorado, and arrived in San Francisco after six college seasons, five at Kansas State and one at Washington, 45 games and 28 starts, every one of them at tackle and none at guard. He sold himself to the league as a man who could back up all five offensive line positions, and he took reps at all five at the Senior Bowl and at Washington's pro day. John Chapman, a former coach who breaks down 49ers film on his own podcast, says the reason Willis blocks so well in the run game and so badly in pass protection is one specific thing: he has no true anchor step, he bends at the waist rather than the knees, and interior linemen get under his shoulder pads and lift. Chapman says a center goes one-on-one in pass protection roughly three to six times a game against seven to fifteen for a guard, which is why a lineman who cannot anchor keeps getting moved inside. San Francisco has already moved Willis from tackle to guard, and he has taken reps at center. The club says the left guard job is down to Willis and Connor Colby, with Kyle Shanahan calling it close to being decided and Thursday night at Las Vegas the last evaluation. The roster is due Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PT and the season opens against the Rams in Melbourne on September 10.
Left Guard Is Down To Two And The Last Practice Of Camp Is Over
San Francisco practised for the last time in training camp on Tuesday morning and Kyle Shanahan said afterwards that the left guard competition is close to being decided between Connor Colby and Carver Willis, with Robert Jones removed from it by a calf injury Shanahan put at around the Australia trip. Matt Maiocco had Willis taking the first-team snaps. Dominick Puni practised and then reported residual symptoms and is most likely back in the concussion protocol. Shanahan named Christian Kirk and Vederian Lowe as possible candidates to start the season on injured reserve, hedging both. Mike Evans, Jacob Cowing, Upton Stout, Romello Height, Kyle Juszczyk, Kirk, Kurtis Rourke and Nick Bosa did not practise across two published absence lists that do not match. Height's injury is an ankle and Juszczyk's finger is fractured. The 49ers play at Las Vegas on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. PDT and the roster is due at 53 at 3:00 p.m. PT on Sunday.
Carver Willis Graded Last Among The 49ers Linemen A Week After Grading First On The Team
PFF's grades from the 49ers' 41-17 preseason win at the Chargers, read one player at a time. Carver Willis graded last among the eleven San Francisco offensive linemen charted, a week after grading first on the whole team against Tennessee. Nick Zakelj, re-signed six days ago and absent from the head coach's list of left guard competitors, graded second among every lineman in the game. Two undrafted rookie defensive tackles posted the best defensive grades on the roster, Sincere McCormick ran for the most yards on the field and graded as the team's worst pass blocker, and Jack Jones took the best coverage grade while Darrell Luter played the most snaps and took the lowest among the corners who finished.
Carver Willis Took The First-Team Left Guard Reps In El Segundo
Notes from Tuesday's joint practice against the Chargers in El Segundo, in order of what they do to the 53. The left guard competition moved, the secondary gave up deep balls to three different men, and a number of starters will play Thursday.
Carver Willis Was The Best Run Blocker And Nearly The Worst Pass Protector
A player-by-player read of the 49ers' 19-13 preseason loss to Tennessee. PFF's grades had Carver Willis first among the charted run blockers and near the bottom in pass protection, Robert Jones last of every 49er charted on offense, Connor Colby fifth, and Bryson Eason the best defensive grade on the roster. Dominick Puni entered the concussion protocol on Sunday, which puts both guard jobs live at once with sixteen days until the roster is set.
Dominick Puni Is In Concussion Protocol And The Left Guard Job Is Still Three Deep
Dominick Puni, No. 77, entered the NFL's return-to-play protocol after sustaining a concussion on Saturday, and did not practise Sunday. The left guard competition on the other side of the centre is still three men, and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said Sunday that the reps are being divided three ways. No account of Sunday's first-team alignment had published as of a 3:07 p.m. PT check of four sources individually, and the club's own recap, which has landed between 3:40 and 4:09 p.m. all camp, had not appeared. Saturday's documented alignment had Connor Colby and rookie Carver Willis rotating with the first team and Robert Jones limited at second-team right guard. Nick Bosa did side work for the first time since August 3. One grade moved on this site's 53-man projection and nobody crossed the cut line.
Ten 49ers To Watch Against Tennessee, Starting With The Left Guard On The Depth Chart
The 49ers open the preseason against the Titans on Thursday night at Levi's Stadium, 6 p.m. PT, on KPIX CBS 5 locally. Kyle Shanahan said after Tuesday's joint practice that there will not be many starters playing, and Christian McCaffrey and Nick Bosa have each missed multiple sessions. That makes the game an audition: Robert Jones is listed as the starting left guard on the club's first unofficial depth chart, rookie Carver Willis is behind him, and second-round receiver De'Zhaun Stribling is coming off the loudest practice any 49ers rookie has had this camp. Ten men to watch, plus the injuries that shape who is available.
Left Guard Is An Open Competition Everywhere Except In The Reps
The 49ers held their 10th full training camp practice on Monday. Robert Jones worked with the first-team offensive line at left guard, Connor Colby stayed at second-team right guard, and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak called the job a competition anyway. Christian McCaffrey was given the day off with tightness, leaving Patrick Taylor Jr., Sincere McCormick and Khalil Herbert as the only healthy running backs, and the club worked out two more. Brock Purdy went 10 of 13. Nick Bosa missed a fourth straight practice.
Connor Colby Rotated With The Backups At Both Guard Spots
Robert Jones took the first-team left guard reps for a second straight practice Thursday, and Connor Colby, who had been taking most of them all camp, rotated with the backups at both guard spots. Carver Willis and Brett Toth, the two injured linemen this site cited as the reason Jones was there Wednesday, did not return. Four other players did, and two accounts of the session disagree about how much any of them practiced. Brock Purdy went 11 of 14. Gracen Halton climbs a grade, partly by beating Colby.
The Injury List Picked Wednesday's Left Guard
The 49ers practiced Wednesday with 18 of their active 90 unavailable and the top five receivers they entered camp with all among them. Robert Jones took the first-team left guard reps, per David Lombardi, and Chris Foerster explained it as a plan to move Connor Colby around that the injuries to Carver Willis and Brett Toth cut short. Brock Purdy went 13 of 14. Two more players left during practice. Nobody who filed on the session reported a kick return by anybody, which is inconvenient for a call this site made Wednesday morning.
