Emmanuel Sanders has had since Tuesday night to study the San Francisco 49ers playbook and get up to speed. He'll be on the field with his new teammates on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters on Friday following the team's final practice of the week and discussed the hectic week of studying that Sanders underwent.
"I thought he did as good as he possibly could," Shanahan said. "It's always tough for people, and it takes all year for guys to get used to it, especially when you miss the foundation in the offseason. But it really helps him being with [Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello] in Denver, so a lot of it is very similar. He was able to kind of jump in right away and make some mistakes as it goes.
"At least he was able to get in there right away and do some things where most guys would be really overwhelmed and take them some time. Still a huge challenge for him, but he's definitely got as good of a head start as he could."
Shanahan had already stated that Sanders would play on Sunday but was asked if that remained the plan.
"He's going to play ... a lot," Shanahan responded.
Shanahan won't move Sanders around too much during his first game with the 49ers. That's just because he wants to ensure that his new offensive weapon isn't overwhelmed and can make an immediate impact.
"Sometimes it's a little mentally hard or confusing just in the heat of battle to change positions, so you try to keep him at one position, and we can change where we put that one position based off our play calls, as opposed to having him change position based off personnel," Shanahan said. "You can still move a guy around a lot while he's playing the same position, but it's just how we use our verbiage.
