The 49ers’ preseason is about to begin against the Green Bay Packers. We won’t see Aaron Rodgers for the road team, but we will see Trey Lance and the Niners’ first-team offense and defense. It would be a surprise to see both units play longer than a series or two. But that doesn’t take away from the excitement of seeing San Francisco live.
According to Beat reporters in attendance, Deebo Samuel wears street clothes, as do Jimmie Ward, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Elijah Mitchell, Trent Williams and Kyle Juszczyk. The 49ers are already without Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley due to injuries.
As for the defensive line, Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Samson Ebukam, Charles Omenihu and Hassan Ridgeway are all out of uniform. That’s not all, as all three linebackers, Fred Warner, Azeez Al-Shaair and Dre Greenlaw, are unfit. The coaching staff essentially does not have to assess 17 players. The team knows what it has in veteran or established starters.
So will the three central defenders Aaron Banks, Jaken Brendel and Spencer Burford play, as will Talanoa Hufanga.
Mitchell injury
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Elijah Mitchell is suffering from a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the preseason. However, Schefter said Mitchell should be ready for the regular season.
Still, injuries limited Mitchell in 2021 and were a major reason the 49ers traded a third-round draft pick for a running back for the second year in a row. Mitchell missed six games as a rookie, including injuries to his knee, shoulder, ribs and a concussion. The boy doesn’t have much bad luck with injuries.
That means we’re going to get a heavy dose of Trey Sermon and Ty Davis-Price this preseason. Don’t expect Jeff Wilson to get much run as the team knows what they have in him. This will also give JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason a chance to make the list.