- Position
- G
- Number
- #75
- Age
- 23
- Pieces here
- 35
On the record
Called Shots →Connor Colby is the 49ers' starting left guard in the Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams on 2026-09-10. Scored off the official starting lineup for that game: Colby listed at left guard is a hit, any other player listed at left guard is a miss, including if Colby is unavailable through injury.
Malik Mustapha, not Marques Sigle, lines up at safety alongside Ji'Ayir Brown with the 49ers' first-team defense on the opening defensive snap against the Los Angeles Rams on September 10, 2026. If Sigle is on the field with the first team on that snap and Mustapha is not, this call is wrong.
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.
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.
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.
Written about him
San Francisco Stopped The Rams On Fourth And One At Its Own 1, Then Drove 99 Yards
The 49ers opened 1-0 with a 27-7 win over the Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Thursday evening in the Bay Area and Friday morning in Australia. Los Angeles reached the San Francisco 1 in the third quarter and turned the ball over on downs; San Francisco answered with an 11-play, 99-yard touchdown drive. Connor Colby started at left guard and the whole line played every snap, George Kittle played 30 of 65 in his return, Kaelon Black carried more often than Christian McCaffrey, and De'Zhaun Stribling started at receiver without being thrown to. Nine takeaways off the official game book.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Nine Takeaways From The 49ers' 19-13 Loss To Tennessee, Starting With The Rookie Who Caught Seven Passes
The 49ers lost their preseason opener 19-13 to Tennessee on Thursday night. Second-round rookie De'Zhaun Stribling caught seven of his eight targets for 63 yards. Kurtis Rourke started at quarterback, completed 12 of 14 passes, and was taken to a hospital with a rib injury that stadium X-rays did not show as a break. Robert Jones started at left guard and Connor Colby started at right guard. Four running backs carried 23 times for 52 yards. Nine takeaways from a game that produced no touchdown passes on 44 attempts.
Bryce Hall And Corey Mayfield Jr. Won A UFL Title Together. On Friday They Were Auditioning In Santa Clara.
The 49ers worked out three defensive backs on Friday, per David Bonilla off the NFL's daily transaction report, with Nate Hobbs out a few weeks, Jack Jones nursing a hand and Marques Sigle an oblique. Bryce Hall and Corey Mayfield Jr. were teammates on the UFL champion Louisville Kings, and Troy Pride Jr. was a fourth-round pick in the same 2020 draft that took Hall in the fifth. No signing had been announced by mid-afternoon, and the roster has been full for ten days. Kurtis Rourke was released from the hospital Thursday night and no result of his further imaging has been published. The first snap counts of the preseason put Robert Jones and Connor Colby on opposite sides of the centre for all 44 first-unit snaps, and Jordan Watkins on the field for 58 while Jacob Cowing took none.
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.
Brett Toth's Undisclosed Injury Was A Concussion, And This Board Took Him Off The 53
Saturday's notebook: the undisclosed injury this beat has been carrying for three days got a name and cost its owner a place on this site's projected 53, Connor Colby lost most of a one-on-one session two days after losing the first-team reps, the defence intercepted Brock Purdy twice in the red zone, and the head coach took a podium for the first time since his car accident.
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.
Four Men At Left Guard, And Two Practices Of Evidence
The 49ers started three different players at left guard in 2025 and opened camp with four candidates for the job. Connor Colby has the incumbency and about 450 snaps in the offense, Robert Jones has 30 career starts and a season he spent on injured reserve, and two practices have settled nothing.