LAS VEGAS – Next stop for the 49ers: Australia.
Almost.
After a mandatory three-day break, the 49ers and their initial 53-man roster will reconvene Monday at their Santa Clara facility. Practices are set for Monday and Wednesday (and possibly Tuesday) before their NFL-chartered flight to Melbourne later Wednesday.
“Our team is ready to go. It’s quick, right? Like next week we’re going to be there,” quarterback Mac Jones said after their 18-12 preseason finale win Thursday over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
The 49ers’ readiness can’t be understated. Training camp and preseason are done. This playoff-caliber unit is so ready to get on with the regular season and a worldwide reveal against the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (Sept. 10).
Left tackle Trent Williams is certainly ready. He didn’t skip a practice all camp, even at age 38.
“Instead of taking days off, we just modified reps each day so I could stay in the same groove, get the same rhythm, and get in football shape,” Williams said in an exclusive interview. “I feel great.”
Same goes for how he sees the 49ers’ chances this season.
“Obviously having a veteran quarterback at the helm is the biggest challenge, and we have that,” Williams said, referring to Brock Purdy. “We just have to play as one unit around him and we have a chance.”
Jones, who went 5-3 as Purdy’s stand-in last season, also is brimming with optimism.
“I’m really looking forward to this season,” Jones said, “because I feel we’ve got a good team – so far.”
Aside from losing wide receiver Ricky Pearsall to season-ending knee surgery early in camp, the 49ers’ other health concerns should ease by Week 1, so long as very important comebacks remain on track.
“There are guys that are going to be close, like Mykel (Williams), like (George) Kittle, who’s taken a step,” said coach Kyle Shanahan, who is looking near full health six weeks after a harrowing car crash.
While the 49ers weigh whether to activate Williams (knee) off the Physically Unable to Perform list, Kittle was cleared last Sunday and participated in back-to-back practices, fueling further optimism his Achilles could be ready for the Rams.
Added Shanahan: “We’ll see how (Nick) Bosa does in these practices. We have guys who are healthy and doing good, but are they ready to get back and play right away?
“We have these mandatory three days off but then we have 2 ½ days before we get on the plane,” Shanahan added. “We’ll at least get two big (practices) in, maybe a third. I’m really curious to see how it goes those three days before we go down there.”
By 1 p.m. Sunday, the 49ers must shave their roster to 53 players, while also plotting the 16-man practice squad that often plays a factor in their near-annual march to the playoffs under Shanahan.
Winning Thursday night’s preseason finale in Las Vegas didn’t just give the 49ers bragging rights over their former neighbor. It gave the few roster-bubble players a chance to state their final cases, such as wide receiver Jordan Watkins (153 all-purpose yards) and defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (sack).
Did Watkins do enough to crack a veteran-laden offense that surely has a spot reserved for rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling?
“It’s very veteran. A lot of guys have been here for a very long time,” Watkins said of the roster. “But I feel you’ve got to get in where you fit in. Kyle and John drafted me here for a reason, and that’s because they see I can make plays in this offense and that I fit. I’ve just got to figure out what that reason is and embrace it to the best of my ability.”
This Vegas visit, their fourth in as many preseasons, also was used to afford catch-up reps to players who’ve missed time with injuries, such as defensive end Keion White (sack, third-down run stop) and running back Jordan James (eight carries, 35 yards).
Defensive tackle Alfred Collins may have played in 16 games as a rookie, but he was deployed into Thursday night’s second half for a reason.
“He had a real late start, which is not his fault. He had some big surgeries (including on his shoulder) to get over this offseason, so he’s got as late a start as anyone,” Shanahan said. “That’s why it was important for him to play (Thursday’s finale). He went two drives into the third quarter, which is more than we usually do for him, but he’s a little bit behind. … He’ll be ready by Week 1.”
And that is coming fast, to a land far away.
“I wish we played them (at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood) for what we usually look at as a home game. But we’ll see how it is in Australia,” Shanahan said. “We’ll play the Rams wherever. Going there is what it is, but it’s going to be a fun atmosphere and always when we play the Rams it’s a big, tough game.”