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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Kyle Shanahan takes his traveling band of 49ers to their first out-of-town gig today – a joint practice at the Los Angeles Chargers headquarters.
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The next tour stop is Las Vegas for a preseason finale next week, then it’s off to Australia a week ahead of their Sept. 10 regular-season opener in Melbourne against the Los Angeles Rams.
Practice against the Chargers is set for 9:50 a.m., and it may not match the intensity of the 49ers’ joint session last week with the Tennessee Titans, which opened with fights in the first few minutes. That 2 1/2-hour practice came two days before a preseason opener the Niners lost 19-13 on Thursday night.
“You want them to have their edge, but there’s a certain amount of work that you want to be able to get done,” defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said. “What I learned from my guys is, they’re going to take it to the tempo that you take it to. And when it goes to that tempo, you just don’t know where it’s going to go. But, at the same time, you want to have that composure to be able to stay out there and practice, right?”
Morris noted that he’s “not worried one bit” that his defensive players might rile up the Chargers the way they ticked off the Titans. After all, joint practices have become all the training-camp rage because coaches covet these scripted sessions for their first-string regulars, while preseason games serve as alternative evaluations.
“The joint practices were really the big measuring stick. That’s where we know we have a plan of how many reps guys are going to get,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said.
Come 7 p.m. Thursday at SoFi Stadium, the Shanahan-coached 49ers will oppose a Chargers squad led by Jim Harbaugh, who is in his third season and coached the 49ers from 2011-14.
Come Feb. 14, the 49ers hope to be back at SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl LXI.
Perhaps the best test in this joint practice will be how the Chargers’ quarterbacks, specifically Justin Herbert and former 49ers draft bust Trey Lance, attack a 49ers’ secondary that has impressed all camp.
“We get a chance to see two good (quarterbacks) that we know of in our own building, but it’s nice to go see other guys and really put ourselves to the test to see how we’re going to react to those guys as well,” Morris said.
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This week’s visit will feature more ex-49ers than just Harbaugh. Also on the Chargers are backup quarterback Trey Lance and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, while their running backs coach is Max McCaffrey.
Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers’ dual-threat running back since 2022, has missed the past four practices because of unspecified tightness, but he has been working on the side and watching practices.
Other 49ers with injuries to monitor: quarterback Kurtis Rourke (rib); running backs Jordan James (rib) and Kaelon Black (adductor); wide receiver Christian Kirk (calf); offensive linemen Dominick Puni (concussion), Brett Toth (concussion) and Vederian Lowe (ankle); defensive linemen Nick Bosa (knee), Keion White (adductor), Grayson Halton (ankle), C.J. West (unspecified), and Titus Leo (unspecified); linebacker Luke Gifford (hamstring); cornerback Nate Hobbs (groin); and, safety Malik Mustapha (hamstring).
Two years ago, the 49ers had so many early-camp injuries they nixed a joint practice against the New Orleans Saints in Costa Mesa, California. Last year, the 49ers held joint practices at home against the Denver Broncos and at the Raiders.
TRANSACTIONS
Defensive end Victor Dimukeje, a sixth-year veteran, signed a one-year deal, as did offensive lineman Nick Zakelj, the latter of whom was released Aug. 10 upon sustaining an elbow injury in practice.
Dimukeje (6-foot-2, 250 pounds) played his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before spending last season on the New York Giants, though he was sidelined the final month with a knee injury. All four of his career sacks came in 2023.
In corresponding moves, the 49ers released running back Khalil Herbert and offensive lineman Kion Smith, who were both signed earlier this month.
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This story was originally published August 18, 2026 at 4:41 AM.