When it comes to resting his starters in Week 18, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan still isn't sure what approach he will take against the Los Angeles Rams.

With the one seed in the NFC secured, the 49ers have nothing to play for in their regular-season finale, meaning San Francisco has the chance to get some key players much-needed extra rest.

But Shanahan said in his Monday conference call that no final decisions have been made as to which players will not play.

A difficult call

"No one’s set right now," Shanahan explained. "I’m still discussing that with coaches and stuff and just trying to figure it all out, what’s best for us. 

"I’ll probably discuss it with those players also. Not as many as you would think. It is really a hard thing to do and it’s not always the best thing to do too. 

"So, we’re going to take everything into account, but it’s still something we’re going to continue talking about throughout this day and tomorrow.” 

Expanding on the dangers of resting players, Shanahan added:

“You’ve got to make sure that you prepare for games by practicing. We’ve got a game this week on Sunday. When you give guys the game off, practice changes too. That can end up hurting guys a lot and you end up just developing bad habits. I’ve seen it cost a lot of teams. Also, it does give some guys a chance to get healthy. When you do that and you sit people, then other people have got to double up and do a lot more because you only get two guys off a practice squad also. If you want to get more than two off practice squad, we’ve got to cut people on a roster and then we don’t get those guys, just to get those guys up. So, it always can end up hurting. You rest players and that sometimes gets more players injured. That’s all that stuff you’ve got to balance out and that’s why there’s not a clear-cut decision on anything."

Inactives an easy decision

While the decision on which players will watch from the sideline in uniform my not be an easy call for Shanahan, the task of deciding which members of his roster will be inactive has essentially been done for him.

Running back Christian McCaffrey has a calf injury that will keep him out for the finale, while cornerback Ambry Thomas is set for surgery on a hand injury. Both players are expected to be ready for the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Defensive tackle Arik Armstead has missed the last four games with knee and foot injuries while rookie safety Ji'Ayir Brown was out for the Week 17 win over the Washington Commanders with a knee sprain. Armstead will continue to rest for the playoffs, Shanahan said, while Brown's status for Week 18 is unknown.

Backup tight end Ross Dwelley is unlikely to play because of an ankle injury, while wide receiver Jauan Jennings and swing tackle Jaylon Moore remain in concussion protocol. 

Playing Brown, Jennings or Moore in a meaningless game, even if they are medically cleared, would be an undue risk and at this point it appears unlikely any of that trio will be involved.

As such, the 49ers have enough players on the injury list to fill the required seven slots on the inactives list.

How he mixes in starters and backups beyond that will be a tough balancing act but, five days out from the regular-season finale, Shanahan can effectively check one task off his list.

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