The San Francisco 49ers are preparing for their second preseason game against the New Orleans Saints this weekend, marking the lone appearance they’ll have at Levi’s Stadium prior to the season opener next month.
However, their plans hit a snag this week, as head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that the team canceled the previously planned joint practices with the Saints, which were scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Irvine.
Why? The team dealt with a whopping 23 players missing some portion of practice last week and felt the risk of more issues arising wasn’t worth the reward of joint practices, which is usually the best part of the preseason for competition.