While the San Francisco 49ers deserve all the credit in the world for fighting through injury after injury after injury to notch 12 wins during the regular season and a road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, that doesn't change the fact that they'll be watching Conference Championship Sunday from home after suffering a 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round.
The NFC Championship Game, of course, will be an all-NFC West affair, as the top-seeded Seahawks are set to host the Los Angeles Rams. And on the AFC side of things, the top two seeds will battle it out, with the New England Patriots visiting the Denver Broncos.
While San Francisco will sit out the NFL's version of the Final Four, there will be several former 49ers suiting up on Sunday to vie for a spot in Super Bowl 60.
Every former 49ers player set to suit up in the NFC and AFC title games
Los Angeles Rams
The lone former Niner on the Rams' active roster heading into Sunday is none other than backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who spent five and a half seasons in the Bay and twice took San Francisco to the NFC title game, going 1-1.
There would be two former 49ers suiting up for Los Angeles, but cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who spent four seasons in San Francisco from 2017 to 2020, rebroke the scapula he initially broke back in Week 2 in the Rams' Wild Card win over the Carolina Panthers, thus ending his season.
Seattle Seahawks
The most high-profile former Niner on any of the four rosters this weekend is easily Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who spent the 2023 season backing up Brock Purdy. And that lone season in San Francisco clearly worked wonders for the former No. 3 overall pick, as he helped the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 regular-season record in 2024, did the same for Seattle in 2025, and now has the Seahawks one win away from their first Super Bowl appearance in 11 years.
The second Seahawk with San Francisco ties is backup tight end Eric Saubert, who appeared in all 17 games for the 49ers in 2024, catching 11 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
New England Patriots
The Patriots' lone former Niner, at least on the active roster, is backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who spent the 2024 season with San Francisco, making three appearances and even getting one start in Week 18, which he lost to the Arizona Cardinals.
Wide receiver and special-teamer Trent Sherfield, who caught nine passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers in 2021, is also with the Patriots but currently resides on the practice squad.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos are loaded with former 49ers, and we're not talking about backups here, as four Denver starters once called San Francisco home, those being nose tackle D.J. Jones (2017-2021), offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey (2018-2022), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (2019-2024), and safety Talanoa Hufanga (2021-2024).