There are plenty of challenges that come with opening a season nearly 8,000 miles from home. The San Francisco 49ers, set to fly Wednesday to Melbourne, Australia, ahead of their Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams, are learning them firsthand.
The dizzying list of complications starts with a simple one: "Do you have a passport?"
That's a question general manager John Lynch said he recently asked a potential practice squad player, as his team continues to finalize the group it will bring on a 16-hour flight this week for the Sept. 10 opener.
"There's a lot of little logistics like that that are complicated by this, but we're embracing it," Lynch said ahead of Monday afternoon's practice. "We're having a plan for everything, and we're getting it done."
A day after slicing its roster to 53, San Francisco made a flurry of additional moves. It placed defensive back Nate Hobbs and linebacker Nick Martin on injured reserve, re-signed punter Corliss Waitman and safety Ashtyn Davis one day after releasing them and added 13 of the allotted 17 players to its practice squad. Those were all calls that needed to be made faster than normal because of the impending trip.
Another Australia-specific challenge the 49ers are navigating? An accelerated timeline on injury decisions. There are a number of players, highlighted by tight end George Kittle and defensive end Nick Bosa, who are recovering from major injuries and could play in San Francisco's first regular-season contest. Under normal circumstances, the decision of which injured players will travel could be made close to - or even on - game day. But with the 49ers flying eight days before they take the field at Melbourne Cricket Ground, the decision-making process is far from simple.
Bosa, who tore his right ACL last season and is dealing with lingering tendinitis, wasn't seen during the portion of practice Monday open to the media. He hasn't practiced since Aug. 3. Kittle participated in position drills and ran routes at full speed; he also took part in portions of practice last week.
The good news for San Francisco is that it gets three consecutive practice days ahead of its Wednesday flight. Coach Kyle Shanahan said he hopes the decision on Kittle will be clear after that time, but it's also possible that it won't be.
"I don't think you have to do anything. If we didn't think he was going to play, though, and it was looking that way, I think it'd be much nicer to make that decision before we left instead of having him go through all that," Shanahan said. "It's also a long time that we're out there, so to be away from the team for a week - not for camaraderie or anything - but just the training staff and things like that, and being away from meetings is also a big deal, too. But hopefully these three days that we have, these three practices will go the right way and it'll make it an easy decision to get him on the plane."
The return of a great: Lynch never thought he'd have to watch defensive tackle Aaron Donald terrorize his team again after he retired in 2024. But with the future Hall of Famer re-signing with the Rams on Sunday on a one-year deal, the 49ers GM might witness it in less than two weeks.
"I mean the guy's different, right? He's a he's an exceptional player, one of the greats," Lynch said. "I know that guy trains like a bad man."
It's currently unclear if Donald will play Week 1. The Rams don't fly to Melbourne until much closer to game day, so they have extra time to ramp him up and make a final decision. Even if Donald doesn't play, the two teams will see each other again Dec. 13. Donald is set to pair up with another future Hall of Famer in defensive end Myles Garrett.
Earlier in the offseason, after Los Angeles traded for Garrett, Lynch joked about reading an inspirational John Wooden quote that fell on deaf ears with Shanahan. The quote read: "Don't lose sleep worrying about your competition. Let them lose sleep worrying about you," to which Shanahan responded, "You know what? F John Wooden."
The feeling is only exacerbated by the return of Donald. But Lynch still feels confident in his team's prospects ahead of the Rams showdown.
"They got better certainly with him deciding to come out of retirement," Lynch said. "I think we're pretty good, too."
Briefly: Shanahan declined to name a starting left guard or a backup running back when asked Monday. Rookie Kaelon Black is competing with 2025 fifth-round pick Jordan James for the right to back up Christian McCaffrey. On Sunday, San Francisco traded for guard/center Jarrett Patterson from the Houston Texans after cutting Robert Jones and placing Brett Toth on season-ending IR. Jones was looked at as a potential depth option at left guard, while Toth was likely to be the backup center. Patterson could be a logical replacement to fill both of those roles, while Connor Colby and Carver Willis are the likeliest candidates to start at left guard.
SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at 49ers, with 8,000-mile trip on tap, deal with roster uncertainty for opener.
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