The San Francisco 49ers will be sitting a handful of veterans on Saturday in their preseason opener against the Houston Texans. The team announced that NaVorro Bowman, Vernon Davis and Darnell Dockett will not dress for the game. Additionally, Jim Tomsula mentioned on Thursday that Reggie Bush will not play.
None of these are shocking, and give the younger players on the team some big opportunities. Vernon Davis's absence will be particularly notable. Washington finds themselves running out of tight ends, and the 49ers have eight on their roster. I could see the 49ers trying to showcase their talent in hopes of doing some dealing before the end of training camp. The team will likely keep no more than four tight ends, so any trades would be welcome.
The defensive line will be interesting to watch given the young talent competing for roster spots. Quinton Dial and Glenn Dorsey seem likely to be starters in the base defense, so we'll see how much time they get. Maybe we see more of guys like Arik Armstead, Lawrence Okoye and Kaleb Ramsey in the preseason opener.
The four non-injury scratches all traveled with the team, but join ten injured players in sitting out the game. The ten injured players are WR Dres Anderson, LB Nick Bellore, WR Bruce Ellington, RB Kendall Hunter, C Daniel Kilgore, OLB Aaron Lynch, WR DeAndre Smelter, DB Jimmie Ward, ILB Philip Wheeler and ILB Michael Wilhoite.