Nobody's grading this one on the standings, but Cam Ward's first extended look as QB1 and a banged-up 49ers roster still trying to shake off a brutal playoff exit give this preseason opener more juice than the calendar suggests.
Bush’s Picks
TENSF
TENSF
OverUnder
Best Bet49ers
This is preseason, so don't read too much into who's technically favored — but San Francisco's overall roster depth, even with starters getting limited snaps, gives them the edge over a Titans team still figuring out who its QB2 and role players even are. The 49ers arrive off a 12-win-caliber season with continuity across their two-deep that Tennessee simply doesn't have yet.
Titans
+Cam Ward gets a full offseason as entrenched starter
+Simmons signed extension, defensive anchor locked in
+Ridley, rookie Tate add juice to receiver room
−Finished 3-14 last season, lost 4 of last 5 shown
−Oladejo (DE) missing camp reps with leg injury
−Simmons dealing with lingering elbow into camp
49ers
+Purdy entrenched as franchise QB, added Mike Evans
+Beat Eagles in Wild Card before season ended
+McCaffrey healthy and leading a deep backfield
−Season ended in ugly 41-6 blowout to Seattle
−Kittle (Achilles) and Bosa (knee) both questionable
−Aiyuk standoff lingers as offseason distraction
Ward heads into camp as the unquestioned starter after Tennessee stumbled to a 3-14 finish last season, and Thursday, August 13 at Levi's Stadium is his first real chance to show what a full offseason as QB1 looks like. San Francisco, meanwhile, is coming off a season that ended about as ugly as it gets — a Wild Card win over Philadelphia followed by a 41-6 divisional-round beatdown in Seattle that exposed just how thin the margin for error is even for a loaded roster.
Don't expect either team's top guys to play deep into this one. Brock Purdy is entrenched as the 49ers' franchise quarterback, but George Kittle is still working back from an Achilles injury and Nick Bosa is managing a knee that's kept him limited this offseason — both are listed questionable heading into camp. Backup Mac Jones has also been dealing with a sore shoulder, which matters more than usual in a game where reserves get the bulk of the snaps.
Show fees
6:00 PM PT
Spread
ML
Total
TEN Titans
SF 49ers
There's also a subplot hanging over the Bay Area: Brandon Aiyuk's messy standoff with the front office, with the receiver publicly demanding a release and the team so far holding firm. It's not going to affect anything that happens on the field Thursday, but it's the kind of noise that colors how this 49ers season is shaping up before a snap of the regular season is played.
Tennessee Titans
San Francisco 49ers
Recent form.
On paper the Titans are the ones with more to prove. They lost 4 of their last 5 shown here, capped by a 41-7 no-show in Jacksonville, and they're breaking in a young receiver room — rookie Carnell Tate has reportedly turned heads at OTAs — alongside a healthier Calvin Ridley. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears give Tennessee a proven one-two punch at running back regardless of who's throwing them the ball.
Tennessee Titans
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
San Francisco 49ers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Jeffery Simmons signing a multi-year extension is a real building block for a Titans defense that needs an anchor, even with the DT nursing an elbow issue into camp. None of that changes what this game actually is — a low-stakes look at depth charts more than a form check on either franchise. But for a Titans team trying to climb out of a 3-14 hole and a 49ers team trying to shake off a 41-6 gut punch, first impressions still count for something.
