49ers news: Don't expect Kyle Shanahan to play starters vs. Raiders

Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Monday that he's not planning on playing any of his starters when the 49ers visit the Raiders for Week 1 of the preseason.

If the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders met in a regular-season matchup during the 2023 season, it'd probably be worthy of a primetime showdown.

After all, it'd feature the Niners' former starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, now donning the silver and black while going up against the young signal-caller who ultimately replaced him late last season, Brock Purdy.

It's not the regular season, though, and Week 1 of the 2023 preseason will matter little in the grand scheme of things.

Although it would be nice to see Jimmy G take the field against his former squad, but that decision will rest with Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.

Speaking of head coaches, Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Monday what his plans are for San Francisco's first exhibition game of the season.

Kyle Shanahan says 49ers won't play their starters in preseason Week 1 vs. Raiders

Speaking to the media after a warm and intense day of 49ers training camp, Shanahan made it pretty clear that Purdy wasn't going to partake in the road festivities when both teams square off on Sunday, Aug. 13 from Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

Considering the Niners and Raiders are going to have two days of joint practices in Las Vegas, having the starters play against each other in a meaningless game doesn't carry much weight with Shanahan.

"I doubt Brock plays," Shanahan said. "We haven’t fully decided it yet. Usually when we go scrimmage against guys, I rarely play our starters. That’s usually my plan going into it, because I’m a little more into the practices than the games.

"But I’ve changed my mind a couple times, too, based off how those practices go. So usually that’s our plan, but we’ll see how those practices go."

Read more: 49ers 2023 preseason schedule: Full list of opponents, dates and times

With Purdy not likely suiting up for the contest, San Francisco will be able to initiate the next installment of the competition for the No. 2 quarterback spot between Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, both of whom have laid claim to the role over two-plus weeks at camp.

It'll be interesting to see who gets the start on Sunday between Lance and Darnold, as that could be an indicator for who is leading the quarterbacking competition.

For those fans hoping to see a highly competitive game, however, Sunday's contest might not be it.

Aside from more quarterback chatter, of course.

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