Every preseason game 49ers will play on their 2022 schedule

The 49ers will be on the road for two of their three preseason games in 2022, and we’ve got your exhibition schedule right here.

It was weird to think NFL fans somewhat missed preseason games back in 2020 when the pandemic canceled out this exhibition period.

Sure, preseason games mean nothing, aside from being a last-ditch chance for fringe players striving to make a 53-man roster, and the quality of play is nothing like it usually is once the regular season rolls around.

But it’s still football. Admit it, you get excited (for at least the first few minutes of preseason Week 1) that football is back.

At any rate, the San Francisco 49ers will be back in action in the middle of August just weeks after their training camp opens up on Tuesday, July 26.

49ers 2022 preseason NFL schedule

Prior to the pandemic, the league had adopted four exhibition games, usually the third being a “regular-season tune-up” of sorts. Starting in 2021, however, both the NFL and players union agreed to only three preseason bouts.

Here’s the Niners’ 2022 preseason schedule:

• Week 1 vs. Green Bay Packers: Friday, Aug. 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET
• Week 2 @ Minnesota Vikings: Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. ET
• Week 3 @ Houston Texans: Thursday, Aug. 25 at 8:15 p.m. ET

How to watch 49ers preseason games

Fans in the Bay Area can tune into KPIX 5, locally, to watch San Francisco’s first two preseason games, while Week 3 of the preseason will be aired on Amazon Prime.

Out-of-market fans can watch the 49ers’ Week 1 bout on NFL Network.

Additionally, fans can stream games on fuboTV, which offers a free seven-day trial for first-time users.

How is the NFL preseason different than the regular season?

Aside from the obvious point that these three exhibition games don’t count for anything, there are some noticeable differences between the preseason and regular-season games:

• Teams carry up to 90 players on an opening preseason roster, whereas regular-season rosters can have no more than 53 (with two potentially elevated from the practice squad)
• There’s no overtime or tiebreakers

Many teams, including the Niners, may only play their starters and first-team units for a handful of drives throughout the entire preseason, while other starters across the league won’t play at all.

Read More: 49ers get 5 primetime games on their 2022 NFL schedule

If anything, these exhibition bouts are more about getting squads prepared for the grind and routine of the regular season, although these games are important for depth players and fringe guys hoping to make the 53-man roster.

While this may not be as interesting for the casual fan, and the quality of on-field play is less than what it’d normally be during a regular-season game, watching those depth-chart battles can surely be intriguing enough.

What happens once the 49ers are done with their preseason?

Teams have to start trimming their offseason rosters during this three-week exhibition phase.

San Francisco will have to go from 90 players down to 85 by Tuesday, Aug. 16, and then the roster will have to be trimmed again down to 80 players by Tuesday, Aug. 23.

All teams have to have their final 53-man rosters submitted by Tuesday, Aug. 30.

The 49ers will open up their 2022 NFL schedule for the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 11 with a Week 1 road contest against the Chicago Bears.