The Fans Won’t Be Seeing Stars : Raiders: Injuries and holdouts hamper exhibition opener against San Francisco 49ers.

Watching the Raiders play the San Francisco 49ers usually means watching some of the biggest names in pro football.

But not this time.

When the Raiders play their exhibition opener at Candlestick Park this afternoon, many of those big names will be doing nothing more than watching.

San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana will be on the sideline, still not ready to return after the elbow injury that cost him last season.

His favorite receiver, Jerry Rice, also will be absent as he continues to hold out, reportedly seeking a four-year, $16-million deal.

The Raiders know all about holdouts. They will be missing running back Marcus Allen, receiver Tim Brown, cornerback Terry McDaniel, defensive linemen Greg Townsend and Scott Davis and linebacker Winston Moss, all of whom have failed to report to camp because of pay disputes.

Still, there should be plenty to watch.

For the Raiders, the new season begins where the old one left off, with quarterback Todd Marinovich perhaps only one or two poor performances by Jay Schroeder away from becoming the team’s No. 1 quarterback. Marinovich started the Raiders’ regular-season finale last year and their only playoff game while Schroeder sat out with two severely sprained ankles.

For now, Schroeder is the starter. He will start today and is expected to start in the Sept. 6 regular-season opener against the Denver Broncos. He is expected to keep the job as long as he can produce the numbers he did in 1990, when he threw 19 touchdown passes and had only nine interceptions.

But, if he starts to produce numbers like last season’s--15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions--make way for Marinovich.

For now, whenever the subject comes up, Coach Art Shell shakes his head as if to say, “How many times do I have to answer this?” then repeats the same line he has uttered without embellishment since the opening day of camp: “Jay is No. 1, Todd is the backup.”

In San Francisco, there is real fear that there is about as much chance of seeing Montana in the future as there is of seeing major league baseball next season.

Montana had surgery last October to reattach a tendon in his right elbow, then had additional surgery in May to clean out scar tissue. When pain persisted in training camp, tests revealed an inflammation of a muscle in that right elbow. Montana is not expected to throw again for at least a week.

That leaves Steve Young, who has made a career out of waiting on the sideline with a clipboard in hand. That is, if Young holds up. He has been bothered by a sore back but is expected to start today. Steve Bono has taken Young’s spot in the wings, and Coach George Seifert left no doubts about the pecking order this week.

“Steve Young is going to start the games unless something medically prevents that,” Seifert said.

Today also will mark the debut of running back Eric Dickerson in a silver and black uniform. Frequently surrounded by controversy in the past, Dickerson has barely been heard from at the Raiders’ Oxnard training camp. While the spotlight has been on the holdout of others, Dickerson, who knows a thing or two about such tactics, has dutifully and enthusiastically gone through the drills and workouts, seeming genuinely happy to be a Raider.

He won’t play a lot today, but he will be out there. Which is more than can said for a lot of others.