5 49ers Who Must Be Handled Carefully in Week 1

Now that the San Francisco 49ers roster is set, the team is a week away from the season opener in Australia. While the game has massive implications given the opponent, the 49ers also have to remember it is only Week 1 of a long season.

Who are some players on the 49ers that should be monitored throughout the first week?

San Francisco 49ers Must Be Cautious With These Players

Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey is coming off one of the most high-usage seasons in his career. Most players tend to get injured the following season due to not being able to maintain that workload. The 49ers have to be wary of that, especially early in the year.

They drafted Kaelon Black and Jordan James in back-to-back seasons to fill the backup spot. They need to lean on these two early in the year if they want to unleash McCaffrey later.

Mike Evans

Evans has been an iron man when it comes to health, but his age is catching up to him. He was dinged up a bit in 2024, missed significant time in 2025, and now is missing a lot of training camp work in 2026. Evans does not appear to have a serious injury, but any time he gets overworked, he ends up limping away and missing a day or so. The 49ers want to get the most out of him but have to take it slow.

Carver Willis

The 49ers are likely going to start Carver Willis in Week 1. However, the fourth-round rookie did not win the job as much as the other players around him lost it. They need to protect him. Trent Williams and Jake Brendel are veterans. How can they make life easier for the young lineman in his debut?

George Kittle

Kittle is returning to practice, and he is eyeing a return for Week 1. Still, he will have been active for less than a month, and he will have recently recovered from a torn Achilles. He had multiple injuries last year, so not only will returning from that particular injury matter, but his body must adjust in all areas.

Nick Bosa

Bosa is set to play after his ACL injury early in the 49ers' 2025 season. Still, for a player with injury scares across his NFL career, they cannot overuse him in Week 1. We should see a lot of Sam Okuayinonu and Keion White.

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