Source: 49ers, Chargers plan joint preseason practices

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The 49ers plan to travel south for joint practices against the Los Angeles Chargers during the preseason, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area on Wednesday.

The Chargers are scheduled to host the 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 22, in the second week of the preseason at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The teams are expected to hold multiple practices against each other at the Chargers’ training facility in Costa Mesa leading up to the game.

Coaches Kyle Shanahan and Brandon Staley, the first-year coach of the Chargers, are still working out the details of the practice sessions, the source said.

This season, NFL teams will have three preseason games and a 17-game regular season.

The 49ers open the preseason on Saturday, Aug. 14, against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium. After facing the Chargers the following week, the 49ers close out the preseason at Levi’s Stadium against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Aug. 29.

This summer, there will be a full two weeks from the 49ers’ final preseason game to their regular-season opener, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 12, at the Detroit Lions.

During the practices against the Chargers, the 49ers’ defense will go up against quarterback Justin Herbert, the 2020 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The 49ers will be in the midst of evaluating rookie quarterback Trey Lance, who will be tested as he goes up against Staley’s defense. Staley was the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2020 before landing the Chargers’ head-coaching position.

RELATED: Observations from 49ers practice during OTAs

The practices will also feature the Bosa brothers lining up at defensive end for the teams.

Joey Bosa begins his sixth season with the Chargers, while Nick Bosa is set to return at the start of training camp after sustaining a torn ACL in his left knee in the second game of his second season with the 49ers.

In first three seasons with Shanahan as head coach, the 49ers held joint practices during training camp with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. The NFL did not allow joint practices last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1998, the 49ers and Chargers held a joint practice at Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium on the campus of University of the Pacific in Stockton that drew a crowd of 27,000 fans.

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