Reggie Bush Won't Play in 49ers' Preseason Opener vs. Texans

The San Francisco 49ers aren't going to risk injury to running back Reggie Bush during the preseason, electing to keep him sidelined for the team's game against the Houston Texans on Saturday.

"I know who that guy is and what that guy does," head coach Jim Tomsula told reporters, per Joe Fann of 49ers.com, an indication that Bush doesn't have anything to prove to his new coach. 

The preseason is generally when position battles are decided and young or journeymen players make a name for themselves and carve out a role for the team, but it's clear the Niners have a good idea of how they'll utilize the veteran back. 

Bush, 30, was expected to be the team's third-down back this season, given his ability to make plays in the passing game. But San Francisco also listed him as its starting kick and punt returner on the most recent depth chart, per Eric Branch of SFGate.com, and Tomsula further elaborated on his role to KNBR (h/t Branch):

"

It’s obviously noted, his skill-set, he’s tremendous as a third-down back. But he also can do other things and we’ll utilize him. It’s been well-documented I think Reggie Bush is a complete running back. You’ve seen him do everything in his career.

Now, where we are right now, he’s going to do the things we need him to do to win games. I hope Reggie doesn’t have to run the power on 4th-and 1. Can he do it? Yes. Has he done it? Yes. But I’m not looking for him to be in that role.

"

Bush, who leads all active backs with 466 receptions, per Branch—he also has 5,465 career rushing yards, 3,489 career receiving yards and 57 total touchdowns—clearly will play a very important role with the Niners this season. For that reason, playing the running back in a meaningless preseason game where he could potentially injure himself wouldn't make a ton of sense.

While Bush will likely appear in the preseason at some point to get his timing down and shake off any rust before the regular season, the Niners clearly didn't feel like the team's first preseason contest was necessary for Bush's regular-season preparation.