It remains to be seen how extensive the 49ers\u2019 joint practice<\/a> Thursday with the Las Vegas Raiders in Nevada will be, with coach Kyle Shanahan and Raiders coach Pete Carroll having already talked about the way both teams can get adequate work.<\/p>\n As much as Shanahan believes players get better by playing and practicing \u2014 a logical, practical way for any coach to look at things \u2014 Job 1 is getting to their season opener on the road Sept. 7 against the Seattle Seahawks with their best players on the field.<\/p>\n If some of them aren\u2019t at peak performance because of lack of practice reps, so be it.<\/p>\n A look at the most indispensable 49ers when they resume practice Tuesday before traveling to Las Vegas for a practice and preseason game Saturday against the Raiders:<\/p>\n 1. Nick Bosa<\/p>\n There is nothing like him on the roster as an edge pass rusher and he\u2019s underrated as being the total package at defensive end. Trade acquisition Bryce Huff has been underwhelming during training camp. Maybe he\u2019s a veteran who\u2019s pacing himself. Rookie first-round pick Mykel Williams should be a factor, but they\u2019re talking about using him inside quite a bit and he\u2019s got a hyper-extended knee. If he\u2019s anything approximating DeForest Buckner or Arik Armstead, he\u2019s worth the pick. But that\u2019s still not a pure edge rusher.<\/p>\n 2. Trent Williams<\/p>\n Another unicorn of his position even at age 37. And frankly he\u2019s been on the field in training camp more than I expected through 13 practices.<\/p>\n Williams hasn\u2019t played a full schedule since 2013, so it\u2019s a good bet at some point he\u2019ll miss a game or two. Just don\u2019t make it an early one. It\u2019s said that Mount Thor in Canada is considered the most dangerous cliff among climbers with a 1,250-meter vertical drop. The second biggest is Williams to Spencer Burford at left tackle. Maybe Andre Dillard can help.<\/p>\n The 49ers are 4-12 without Williams since 2020.<\/p>\n 3. Ricky Pearsall Jr.<\/p>\n Sounds pretty high for a second-year wide receiver. Look at what\u2019s behind him.<\/a> Brandon Aiyuk is out in the six-game range rehabbing a torn ACL\/MCL. Demarcus Robinson will likely miss at least three games after pleading no contest to a November DUI. Fourth-round pick Jordan Watkins has shown flashes but has a high ankle sprain, is out a month and loses prime development time.<\/p>\n Pearsall in the last two weeks has been one of the camp standouts, one of the few guys consistently breaking way into the clear. Better than anything we saw from Deebo Samuel in 2024.\u00a0 He and Brock Purdy seem on the same page. For the first quarter of the season at least, he needs to be WR2 behind Jauan Jennings and he can\u2019t do that if he sustains another injury. And if Jennings\u2019 calf\/contract negotiation continues, he may need to be WR1.<\/p>\n 4. Christian McCaffrey<\/p>\n The 49ers claim they\u2019re handling McCaffrey the same way as two years ago, but it seems he\u2019s getting more of the kid-gloves treatment and that\u2019s a good thing. Looked very good in Monday\u2019s practice. There is no earthly reason to expose him to injury, especially with Isaac Guerendo out at least two more weeks with a shoulder injury and fifth-round pick Jordan Davis nursing a knee injury. Jeff Wilson Jr. is back<\/a> as a stopgap going into his eighth year. Corey Kiner could be their latest undrafted free agent find and he\u2019s more of a runner\/receiver than Jordan Mason.<\/p>\n Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group<\/p>\n George Kittle may not leave the sidelines for the 49ers in three preseason games, and that’s a good thing.<\/p>\n 5. George Kittle<\/p>\n He\u2019s had a great camp and has taken a seat for just one practice. With Luke Farrell as a blocking tight end, Kittle can do more in the receiving game and join Pearsall as a trusted target for Purdy. There\u2019s no one else like him on the roster. Not even close. As much as he loves to play, Kittle should start being a spectator until the season starts.<\/p>\n 6. Fred Warner<\/p>\n Too good to be at No. 6, but look at the names in front of him. Warner really wasn\u2019t himself after an ankle fracture in Week 4 against New England but was still good enough to be an All-Pro, although some of that was on reputation.<\/p>\n The 49ers like Tatum Bethune as a backup in the middle, but he\u2019s more of a standard thumper and unable to do the sideline-to-sideline damage Warner can when fully healthy. Dee Winters looks as if he\u2019s taken a step forward to replace Dre Greenlaw but he\u2019s not in Warner\u2019s class either as a leader and a prototype modern middle linebacker.<\/p>\n 7. Brock Purdy<\/p>\n The most important player on any team is the quarterback. Case closed, end of story. And Purdy got what he deserved in the form of an extension worth a maximum of $265 million. Purdy has grown quite a bit since his rookie year, according to Wilson, who was traded to Miami just as Purdy was ascending in the starting job as a rookie.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just his aura. He doesn\u2019t even have to speak,\u201d Wilson said Monday. \u201cYou can feel it on him. You can feel his presence.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755000310_815_BNG-L-49ERS-0810-04.jpg\")
<\/p>\n