49ers will host Saints in preseason, hold joint practices in Irvine

While the game between the two teams will take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, expected to be nationally televised in prime time, Duncan reports that the Saints will host the 49ers at their training camp location at the University of California-Irvine in Southern California.

"The joint practices against the 49ers will likely take place a couple of days before the preseason game," Duncan wrote. "The official dates and times of the workouts will be announced later this summer.

"In Irvine, the Saints will practice on Crawford Field at the UC Irvine Athletics Complex, which hosted the Rams from 2016 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023. The Saints needed a new location because of a construction project on a new cafeteria at the team's Metairie training complex."

It's curious that the 49ers are not hosting the Saints at their Santa Clara facility, given that the exhibition game will be played at Levi's Stadium, located next door. It's likely their practice fields can only accommodate one NFL team.

The complete NFL schedule will be released tomorrow night. However, the preseason slate is typically announced in the weeks that follow. For now, we know that the 49ers and Saints will face each other, with Duncan indicating that the matchup will occur in the second week of the preseason.