The 2017 preseason is officially set to come to a close! The San Francisco 49ers close things out on Thursday evening when they face the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi’s Stadium. The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT, and will be a local broadcast. It will air on CBS in the Bay Area, and you can see other viewing locations here.
Kyle Shanahan said most of the 49ers starters will not play, but he also said it is unlikely they will be able to sit all of their starters. I suspect we see a mix of playing time for the remaining starters that do play. Reuben Foster and Solomon Thomas can use the reps, but I also am comfortable getting them off the field as soon as possible in the meaningless fourth game.
What will be most interesting is who does not play on Thursday. There are plenty of obviously starters who will sit, but we might get a surprise or two. And if Brian Hoyer sits, as one would expect, does Matt Barkley or C.J. Beathard get the reps to start the game? I would imagine we’ll see them each get a half of action, and given the lack of starters playing, the players they’re in with won’t be drastically different.
In previous years, the NFL had a roster cut to 75 players on the Tuesday of the final preseason week. That was eliminated this year, and there is only the cut to 90 players on Saturday. Plenty of players still have a lot to play for on Thursday.
Nuts and bolts
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Game time: Thursday, August 31, 7 p.m. PT
TV channel: CBS/KPIX-5
Online streaming: NBC Sports Live Stream, NFL Game Pass
NFL Network Replay: Thur Aug 31 11 p.m., Saturday Sep 2 9 p.m.
Radio: 680-AM, 107.7 (Bob Fitzgerald, Keena Turner) | Full listings
Spanish Radio: KTRB 860-AM (Jesus Zarate, Luis Landero)
Matchup history: 49ers lead preseason series 25-20
Announcers: Ted Robinson, Tim Ryan, Dennis O’Donnell (sideline)
Enemy blog: Bolts from the Blue
Twitter: @ninersnation
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Preseason schedule
Friday, August 11: 27-17 win over Kansas City Chiefs
Saturday, August 19: 33-14 loss to the Denver Broncos
Sunday, August 27: 32-31 loss to the Minnesota Vikings
Thursday, August 31: vs. Los Angeles Chargers, CBS, 7 p.m. PT
Regular season schedule
Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers, 1:25 p.m., FOX, Sunday, September 10
Week 2: @ Seattle Seahawks, 1:25 p.m., FOX, Sunday, September 17
Week 3: vs. Los Angeles Rams, 5:25 p.m., NFL Network, Thursday, September 21
Week 4: @ Arizona Cardinals, 1:05 p.m., FOX, Sunday, October 1
Week 5: @ Indianapolis Colts, 10:00 a.m., FOX, Sunday, October 8
Week 6: @ Washington, 10:00 a.m., FOX, Sunday, October 15
Week 7: vs. Dallas Cowboys, 1:05 p.m., FOX, Sunday, October 22
Week 8: @ Philadelphia Eagles, 10:00 a.m., FOX, Sunday, October 29
Week 9: vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1:05 p.m., FOX, Sunday, November 5
Week 10: vs. New York Giants, 1:25 p.m., FOX, Sunday, November 12
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: vs. Seattle Seahawks, 1:05 p.m., FOX, November 26
Week 13: @ Chicago Bears, 10:00 a.m., FOX, Sunday, December 3
Week 14: @ Houston Texans, 10:00 a.m., FOX, Sunday, December 10
Week 15: vs. Tennessee Titans, 1:25 p.m., CBS, Sunday, December 17
Week 16: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1:05 p.m., CBS, Sunday, December 24
Week 17: @ Los Angeles Rams, 1:25 p.m., FOX, Sunday, December 31