Rams expect to have WR Puka Nacua Thursday

Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey were not taking part in drills in the early portion of 49ers practice that was open to the media. George Kittle is practicing.

Related players: Kaelon Black, Jordan James

The Niners, of course, are in Australia preparing for this week's game against the Rams Thursday night. McCaffrey was dealing with tightness and missed time all through camp but later came out and said it was all planned. So, this could be part of the plan as well. Hopefully there is no need to panic as we're less than four days away from this game. There should be plenty of eyes on CMC leading up to Thursday night, but owners should always be sure to have a backup plan.

Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will start on Sunday against the Steelers.

The Falcons finally made the choice today, just six days before the start of the regular season, according to multiple reports.

Related players: Michael Penix, Jack Strand, Cooper Rush

As the story pointed out, Tua was the favorite all along, but really had an up and down camp and offseason. In the end it wasn't necessarily a competition as Penix was coming off an ACL injury and wasn't healthy enough to really push Tua until later in August. The QB2 hasn't been named yet but probably depends on if Penix is healthy enough. Strand got some positive press this summer, but something would probably have to go wrong for him to see QB1 work early in the season. This feels like a year where we see both Tagovailoa and Penix in multiple games and neither should be counted on as a longer-term solution to your QB spot, even in deeper two-QB or superflex leagues.

Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson did not practice Saturday as he continues to deal with an ankle injury.

Saturday marked the first practice in preparation for Wednesday’s season opener and Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks. Henderson has not practiced now in almost two weeks. An official injury report is due this weekend but Henderson’s status Sunday and Monday is very much worth monitoring for his Week 1 availability. If Henderson can’t go, Rhamondre Stevenson would be in line for even more work as the lead back, with newly-acquired Corey Kiner behind him. For those drafting this weekend, continue to treat both Stevenson and Henderson as RB3s/Flexes in the middle rounds of your draft.