49ers Nearing Return for Bosa, Kittle and Evans With Australia Opener Three Weeks Out

The 49ers closed the preseason Thursday night in Las Vegas against the Raiders, missing nearly two dozen players. Most of them, according to coach Kyle Shanahan, aren't expected to miss much of the regular season.

That's significant three weeks before San Francisco opens its 2026 campaign against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 10.

The good news: Bosa, Kittle, Evans

Nick Bosa hasn't practiced since Aug. 3. He's been dealing with soreness and tendinitis in the surgically repaired right knee that ended his 2025 season early with a torn ACL. Shanahan told reporters Tuesday, Aug. 25, that Bosa is "doing good" and the team is hoping he can get back into practice next week, according to both USA Today and the New York Post.

That timing matters. After Thursday's preseason finale, the 49ers get three mandatory days off, then roster cuts happen Saturday, trimming the squad from 90 to 53. The team returns to practice Monday for three sessions before flying to Australia late on Sept. 2, per CBS News. Those three practices are effectively the last audition Bosa and everyone else on this list gets before the team boards a plane.

George Kittle is further along. The seven-time Pro Bowl tight end tore his right Achilles in San Francisco's wild-card win over Philadelphia in January and was activated off the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 23. He's been running routes and working with quarterbacks and offensive linemen in non-competitive drills but hasn't yet returned to full team periods, Shanahan said. NFL.com and 49ersWebZone both note Kittle is optimistic that changes next week.

Mike Evans, San Francisco's marquee free-agent addition at receiver, has been slowed by a groin issue after already missing time with a quad strain. He sat out Tuesday's practice but was throwing and catching on the side, Shanahan told USA Today. "His groin is tight," Shanahan said. "Hoping to get him back next week, also."

Receiver Jacob Cowing (groin) and cornerback Upton Stout (hip flexor) are in the same "expected back next week" category, according to CBS News.

The offensive line and the QB with broken ribs

The left guard job was still unresolved heading into the finale. Robert Jones (calf) and Austen Pleasants (knee) have both been out, and Shanahan told Yahoo Sports he doesn't expect Jones back until "around Australia," meaning this weekend at the earliest. Rookie Carver Willis and second-year lineman Connor Colby got the start against Las Vegas while most veterans rested.

"It's close to being decided, and it needs to be close," Shanahan said of the left guard battle.

Right guard Dominick Puni is back in the concussion protocol after briefly returning to practice, a setback the team hasn't fully explained publicly.

Backup quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who impressed in the preseason opener against Tennessee before suffering three broken ribs, sat out Thursday but is expected back at practice next week, according to Shanahan and confirmed across CBS News and Yahoo Sports.

Kirk, Lowe and the injured reserve calculation

Not everyone is trending in the right direction. Wide receiver Christian Kirk, who signed a one-year, $6 million deal this offseason, hasn't practiced since injuring his calf in the very first session of training camp in late July. Swing tackle Vederian Lowe has been out roughly as long with a high-ankle sprain.

Shanahan called it "possible" both start the season on injured reserve, which requires missing at least the first four games. Cornerback Nate Hobbs (groin), offensive lineman Brett Toth (concussion) and linebacker Nick Martin (hamstring) are also mentioned by CBS News as candidates for that route.

There's practical logic here that Yahoo Sports' Kyle Posey laid out clearly: the 49ers have eight IR-return designations available for the regular season, and parking a hurt-but-fixable player there doesn't cost a 53-man roster spot the way an active designation would. Kirk and Lowe signed for close to the veteran minimum, so the team has less urgency to rush them back.

The McCaffrey wrinkle

Running back Christian McCaffrey also missed practice time this camp, sitting out from Aug. 8 through the weekend before Kittle's activation, dealing with what he called "tightness." Unlike the other absences, McCaffrey said this one was scripted from the start.

"This was kind of part of the plan from the jump, to ramp up pretty big, get nine or 10 practices in, kind of come back down and then ramp up again so we're fresh for the duration," McCaffrey told NBC Sports Bay Area. He added that his own competitive streak sometimes needs to be reined in by the training staff: "Sometimes I can probably be my own worst enemy in how much I love being out there."

McCaffrey played through an injury-shortened four-game 2024 season before racking up 413 touches, including a career-high 311 carries, last year. Managing his workload proactively rather than reactively is a deliberate change, by his own account, not a hidden injury.

Mykel Williams, the defensive end who tore his ACL and lateral meniscus last November, remains the longest shot of the group. Shanahan has called him a "long shot" for the opener but hasn't ruled him out.

None of this is settled. Whether Bosa, Kittle and Evans actually practice next week, and how their bodies respond over those three sessions, will determine who steps off the plane in Melbourne ready to play and who watches from the sideline against the Rams on Sept. 10.