The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams open the 2026 NFL season Thursday night. They will meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
The 49ers have two big players returning from major injuries. Tight end George Kittle is active after recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in last January’s wild-card game. Defensive end Nick Bosa is also back after missing most of last season with a torn ACL. Defensive tackle Alfred Collins will miss the game with a knee injury.
The Rams will be without star defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He did not travel with the team as he continues to work his way back into game shape after coming out of retirement. New pass-rusher Myles Garrett is expected to make his Rams debut.
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Depth chart
Here’s the projected depth charts for the San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams Week 1 matchup:
San Francisco 49ers
Offense QB: Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke
RB: Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James
FB: Kyle Juszczyk
WR (L/X): Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson
WR (R/Z): Deebo Samuel Sr., Jordan Watkins
WR (S/slot): De’Zhaun Stribling, Jacob Cowing
TE: George Kittle, Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell
LT: Trent Williams, Enrique Cruz Jr.
LG: Carver Willis, Connor Colby
C: Jake Brendel, Jarrett Patterson
RG: Dominick Puni
RT: Colton McKivitz, Vederian Lowe
Defense LDE: Keion White, Khalid Kareem
LDT: Osa Odighizuwa, C.J. West
RDT: C.J. West / Gracen Halton (Alfred Collins out; James Thompson Jr. also in mix)
RDE: Nick Bosa, Romello Height
WLB: Dre Greenlaw, Garret Wallow
MLB: Fred Warner, Tatum Bethune
SLB: Jaden Dugger / Luke Gifford
LCB: Renardo Green, Jack Jones
RCB: Deommodore Lenoir, Ephesians Prysock
NB: Upton Stout
SS: Malik Mustapha, Marques Sigle, Ashtyn Davis
FS: Ji’Ayir Brown, Siran Neal
Special Teams K: Eddy Piñeiro
P: Corliss Waitman
LS: Jon Weeks
PR/KR: Jacob Cowing / Deebo Samuel Sr. (and others)
Los Angeles Rams
Offense QB: Matthew Stafford, Stetson Bennett, Ty Simpson
RB: Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, Ronnie Rivers
WR (L/X): Davante Adams, Konata Mumpfield
WR (R/Z): Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell, CJ Daniels
WR (S/slot): Jordan Whittington, Xavier Smith
TE: Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, Davis Allen, Max Klare
LT: Alaric Jackson, David Quessenberry
LG: Steve Avila, Bill Murray / Beaux Limmer
C: Coleman Shelton, Dylan McMahon
RG: Kevin Dotson, Beaux Limmer
RT: Warren McClendon Jr.
Defense (note: Aaron Donald out) DE: Braden Fiske (starting in place of Aaron Donald), Tyler Davis
NT: Poona Ford, Ty Hamilton
DT: Kobie Turner, Ty Hamilton / others
LOLB: Byron Young, Josaiah Stewart
LILB: Nate Landman, Shaun Dolac / Grant Stuard
RILB: Omar Speights, Grant Stuard
ROLB: Myles Garrett, Desjuan Johnson
LCB: Jaylen Watson, Emmanuel Forbes Jr.
RCB: Trent McDuffie
NB: Quentin Lake, Josh Wallace
SS: Kam Curl, Jaylen McCollough
FS: Kamren Kinchens, Tanner Ingle
Special Teams K: Harrison Mevis
P: Ethan Evans
LS: Joe Cardona
PR/KR: Xavier Smith / Jordan Whittington (and others)
