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.
Here’s the projected depth charts for the San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams Week 1 matchup: 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. 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. 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) 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)
