The San Francisco 49ers kick off their preseason schedule at Levi’s Stadium as they will take on Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos on Saturday. Thursday’s joint practice was very spirited, with both starting units (for the most part) facing off in red-zone and move-the-ball periods. With the rigors of a 17-game season, most teams don’t run their starters out for the preseason opener. However, it is challenging to get through games without at least a few starters getting some snaps.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Deommodore Lenoir, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Mykel Williams, and Kyle Juszczyk will not play on Saturday.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about whether starters would be on the fie

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