All three quarterbacks will be active for the 49ers, but special teams ace Tavares Gooden will not. Gooden, who plays linebacker, injured his ribs last week against Miami and was limited in practice throughout the week. No. 3 quarterback Scott Tolzien is active for just the third time this season.
The other prominent name on the inactive list is receiver Mario Manningham, who injured his shoulder two weeks ago against the Rams and did not play last week against the Dolphins. Randy Moss will start in Manningham's place, and Ted Ginn and A.J. Jenkins will fill in in other wide receiver formations.
Moss spent 3 1/2 seasons in New England and had one of the most prolific years of his career in 2007. He caught 98 passes for 1,493 touchdowns, averaging 15.2 yards per catch. Last week, Moss said he went to New England as a nine-year veteran thinking he knew everything about receiving.
"I've said time and time again, before I got to New England, I thought I knew a lot about football," Moss said. "But I think (Bill Belichick) taught me a lot from A to Z. I still carry it to this day. The compliments are good and I respect coach Belichick and that organization still to this day. Hopefully, we'll have a good game coming up Sunday night. I look forward to the game, and hope the fans do, too."
For the Patriots, tight end Rob Gronkowski (wrist) is not active. Gronkowski made his first practice appearance Friday after breaking his wrist last month. He had missed Wednesday's and Thursday's sessions.
The 49ers has two extra roster spots at the start of the week after suspending running back Brandon Jacobs and placing Demarcus Dobbs on injured reserve. The 49ers signed Eric Bakhtiari to fill one of those spots. The other spot remains open.
Here are the remaining 49ers' inactives: Safety Trenton Robinson, running back Jewel Hampton, guard Joe Looney and nose tackle Ian Williams.
Patriots inactives: TE Rob Gronkowski; S Derrick Martin; LB Tracy White; OL Markus Zusevics, DE Jake Bequette, DL Ron Brace
- Matt Barrows
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