San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn't want to play his starters in the team's preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. He opted to play his first-team units on Saturday against the Denver Broncos.
The starters will also receive playing time on Friday in the Niners' preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. It will be their last opportunity to shake off any rust before the regular season opener on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What went into the coach's decision to give his starters one more opportunity in the preseason? After all, the 49ers own a talented veteran group, one of the most talented in the NFL.
"It's all about having guys ready to play a real football game," Shanahan told reporters before Tuesday's practice. "And there's so much that goes into mentally being ready, physically being ready. You can't have any hesitation in this game. When Week 1 starts, people see that, and you can lose games very fast, just being a little bit off.
"You kind of build that with experience over your career. I've had guys that I've sat for the [entire preseason] and then fumble their first play that they get in, and then you kick yourself in the butt for it. It's just like, 'What was I doing?' I've also played guys, and they get hurt, and you're like, 'What the hell was I thinking?'
"So there's zero absolutes in any of it. That's why I don't sit here and tell you guys what we're doing way in advance. I look at each thing day to day. I look at our practices, I look at our reps, I look at the individual, how he is and where he's at in his career, how he is just with the week, and where he is in terms of being ready for Week 1.
"All that stuff goes into it, and you don't really know until it's over what the right decision was. So that's why it's not always fun to make those decisions, but I also know when you just sit everyone, and you don't practice football, you do your guys a pretty big disservice."
No Mitchell in preseason finale?
One player who might not get any playing time during the preseason is Elijah Mitchell. He was among six players that returned to practice this week. The running back suffered an abductor strain during training camp. The coach hinted that Mitchell might not play on Friday. If he does, the workload could be limited.
"We had to ease him back in," Shanahan explained. "Yesterday was his first day back. I thought he looked awesome. We'll see how he is today. We'll kind of factor that in after two more days of practice, but I don't picture Elijah, with just getting these two and a half days in, being a big thing this week, but we'll see."