4 teams on 49ers schedule that could bench their starting QB
There are four teams the San Francisco 49ers will face in 2026 that may have benched their starting QB by the time they play the 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers in 2025 had a relatively light schedule when it came to facing top-flight quarterbacks. That will change in 2026 with players like Bo Nix, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts all on the docket. However, there are a handful of teams the 49ers will face that have unsettled QB situations that could change by the time the 49ers face them.
We went through the 49ers' schedule and found four teams that could have their Week 1 backup in as the starter when San Francisco plays them: Week 7 vs. Atlanta Falcons Quarterbacks: Michael Penix, Tua Tagovailoa It's still undetermined who the Week 1 starter will be for Atlanta. Penix is recovering from a knee injury, but he is participating in Phase 2 of the offseason program which puts him on track to participate in a real competition with Tagovailoa.
Whoever starts Week 1 may not be the starter by the time the 49ers visit in Week 7. If Atlanta gets off to a slow start, that Week 7 point at about a third of the way through the season is a good time to make a change that might catalyze a playoff push. Week 9 vs.
Las Vegas Raiders Quarterbacks: Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza The Raiders may plan for Cousins to start all 17 games this season to let Mendoza sit and absorb his first NFL season. With the No. 1 pick behind Cousins, though, Las Vegas could get an itchy trigger finger if their season gets off to a rocky start under first-time head coach Klint Kubiak.