San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters this week, as the team kicked off organized team activities. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
First impressions of seeing your quarterbacks side-by-side? I guess today was kind of a different look seeing them on the field. Were you able to kind of rotate back and forth to see how they were doing and what did you think?
"Yeah, it was the first time yesterday for us. Just having five guys out there was kind of unusual for me. I don't think I've had five before. But, it was cool to get them all. Really, we only got two of them reps these last two days. Our OTAs are a little modified this year just with rep counts and only being around these guys for one week instead of the five weeks that I'm normally used to. I just didn't know if we were in as good of football shape. We've taken off a lot of reps for this week, so only two guys have been going. But when we put in more next week, the other guys should get some ops."
I was going to ask about that. How do you accommodate five guys? It seems like getting reps for four guys is sometimes tough in a training camp, a mini camp. Having said that, do you think you'll have to winnow down that list to four at some point the spring?
"I mean, I would never say never. But, as far as reps, we take it week-to-week. I like to see where our players are, the whole team, to know how many plays I think we could run. Then my next thought goes to how many plays I think the quarterback should have. So, right now, we don't have enough team reps for anybody more than two to get it. I expect that to change the next week. When you have five guys, I think they'll all get some reps throughout OTAs. I mean with that fourth and fifth guy—three, four, and five—not being that consistent. It's going to depend on the day really. But, I don't think that's always the case. I've had some young guys come in who don't get a rep and then they get there in training camp. I know it was frustrating for the guys because you always want the opportunity, but they've been handling it right. They've been in there a lot. You don't always get it with the team, but they get it with the wideouts on the side and stuff and they don't always need to be in the drills or in the competitive periods to impress us. We're drilling the heck out of them right now and getting an idea of what we're working with."
We didn't see DL Nick Bosa out there. Can you kind of give us the rundown on where he is both physically and where he is actually in the United States?
"Nick's in Florida. I've been talking to Nick since February on this. He came out in February for a while to get checked up on his knee and stuff. With him coming off the ACL and everything, it's going great. I'm sure you guys have seen some videos. But, he's got a good setup out there with his brother and the guy who works with his knee. They're in contact with our guys all the time and just didn't want to take him off his routine right now. I totally agree with him out there. He's going to show up at some time during this, but he won't be going out there doing anything coming off the ACL, but we fully expect him to be ready for training camp."
Obviously, you guys got a lot of business done this off season. It seems like the next big thing would be LB Fred Warner. How, how much of a priority is it to get that done? Do you expect that to be something that you aim to get done before training camp starts?
"I wouldn't say like an exact thing. I want to get it done personally. I kind of feel like I'd say the same about him as I did about [TE George] Kittle when we were talking about it. I just see that kind of as a matter of time. I know he's not going into his free agent year or anything like that, so that's why it's not always on my mind. But, Fred's a guy that I plan on being here forever and who has earned that. I'd be surprised if that doesn't start sooner than later."
What have been your biggest impressions of both quarterbacks so far, how they've adapted to the offseason and coming back into getting into reps?
"It's been great just watching the whole group working together. Just like those last questions, it's tough when there's only one position and there's five guys and they're all so eager to get reps and we don't have a lot of reps going through. So, just what all five of those guys have been doing, hanging out with each other every day in the meeting rooms, on the field, that's what I've been impressed with the most so far. These two practices, I think both guys have done a good job. We had 12 plays of 7-on-7 and we had 10 plays at teams. That's about usually half of what we normally do. I'm not doing enough to really get too into the football or make any judgements off guys. We're just throwing a lot at [QB] Trey [Lance] that he's hearing for the first time. We're throwing a lot at some of these other quarterbacks who have just gotten here for the first time. You start a day one for the rest of the team. It's always good for me to start at day one and we build our way up."
We saw WR Jalen Hurd out there briefly working off on the side at another practice. How's he progressing? How is that receiving room shaping up for you right now with some of those guys back like WR Travis Benjamin?
"Yeah, it's been great to have Jalen back. He came back right when phase two started and he's done a good job in his ACL rehab. He should be ready to go by camp, so hopefully there's no setbacks and stuff like that. Right now, he's just working out with [head athletic trainer] Dustin [Little] on the side and making sure he continues to rehab and gets ready for his time, which will be training camp. As far as the whole group, I've been really excited with the group. We just got to see then in person a week ago from yesterday. They came and worked hard on Monday. We got four days to really condition them. I thought the wideouts really worked very hard last week, which allowed us to be somewhat prepared this weekend. I think we'll turn it up a lot more with them the following week because that's usually my biggest concern in OTAs, are kind of the wideouts and the people that usually do most of the running with the soft tissue injuries. So, I think they've been getting in real good shape. I'm looking forward to [WR] Deebo [Samuel] and [WR Brandon] Aiyuk taking a step forward and all these guys that we brought here. With [WR Mohamed] Sanu coming back, we had him for a little bit last year. Travis coming back, I think they've added some stuff to the group."
I haven't talked to you even after the rookie minicamp. What have you thought about Lance just from the time you've been with him? Is he everything that you expected to see?
"Yeah, as a person, definitely. The player, you know the ability that he has and you see that on tape. You don't really come and look from a coaching standpoint each day like, 'How'd he do today? Is he that good? Is he not?' More you just want to get to know about the guy. I've got an idea of who I think the person is and being with him these last two weeks, he's been everything that we hoped and more. I think he's a very smart kid. He's a very humble kid. I think he's a very natural leader. I think the guys have gravitated to him and it's been fun to throw a lot at him. You do it for two days in rookie minicamp and watch him just take it all in. From how he calls a play in the huddle to how he takes a snap under center to how he stands in shotgun, to how he does everything, it's new. We're asking him to do something different and to just absorb all that in and to still handle yourself the right way. To me, that is impressive. That's what I've expected from him and haven't been disappointed in that. That's why I'm thankful to get OTAs and stuff because with OTAs, I'm trying not to judge too much with anybody. You throw so much at people. It's, 'How much can they soak in?' They go through a lot of highs and lows and those nine practices, and then they get away for 40 days. They kind of get to figure out what they just went through how to do it on their own. Then they come back to training camp and you see what you really got."
There have been reports C Weston Richburg was going to retire. Is that the case? Then also, could you just provide an update on DL Dee Ford, where he is and could he be ready for say, training camp? Or is it later than that?
"Yeah, Weston is going to retire. I don't know how that officially works, but that's the word that I've been told. With Dee Ford, Dee Ford has been here since February. He's been throughout this whole offseason, all the rehab, really made a lot of strides in this offseason together. Everyone knows the sensitivity of his injury with his back and stuff, but he's been putting in a lot of work here and we feel it's going the right direction. Last week we sent him home, because he had been here so long, to go back to his hometown, see his doctor and plan on coming back here in the next couple of weeks. But don't expect to see him till training camp on the field."
Trey Lance threw an interception on a pass in 7-on-7 that was a little high. Then he had another pass that was almost picked that was a little high. I know it was not a concern in May, but when he does miss high, what do you see from him mechanically?
"Nothing. I'm watching where the ball's going. We don't judge a guy's mechanics every time he throws. That would drive a guy crazy. We just try to coach him and get the ball to the right spot. Usually it has to do with where your feet are, in your feet under you, and throwing it on time. So that's just stuff you want them to work through and get better at, but there's no secret to, 'Hey, if you just do this, so it won't be high.' We'll let you write about that, but that's not how I coach them."
There was a lot of Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones chatter yesterday, and the 49ers were connected to a possible trade for him. Are you guys still in the trade market? After the big move you made in the draft, do you have the desire or the capacity to do a trade like that? Is Julio Jones somebody that you're interested in?
"Well, you know I'm not legally allowed to talk about players on other teams. I can't answer that exactly the way you want me to. Anyone I've coached in the past that I have relationships with, especially a great dude like Julio, obviously I have a ton of respect for. We're always interested in improving our team. We'll never just say, 'Hey, we're done, we can't improve our team.' You always try to try to make that happen. But yeah, it makes it harder when you've already given up some stuff to make some moves and things like that. Everything's got to fit in. It's got to make sense. But, I would never say we're just done."
What does it say to you that just the overall attendance seems to be really high? Obviously, some guys aren't participating in team drills, but just given all the talk with the with the NFLPA and the thought that so many players would be boycotting OTAs, what does it mean to you to get such high attendance from your guys?
"I was really happy. You know what I mean? You hear a lot of that stuff, but for our guys to show up like they did—my biggest concern was only getting a week with the guys. I think this is my 18th OTA since we didn't have one last year. I've never had OTAs without being around the guys for five weeks prior, so you've got a very good idea of where they're at. We've only been around these guys for four days until our first OTA. So that's what made me really nervous in terms of just putting these guys out there. That's why we've had to take some reps away and hopefully we'll get to normal OTAs next week. But our guys came in and we got guys who really enjoy football. I know there's a lot of different opinions on all that stuff, but it's hard to get better at football if you don't practice it. It's hard to get better at any sport if you don't practice playing the game. There's lots of ways to improve yourself, but you've really got to practice the sport get better at it. Some guys need it more than others. That's why I get each guy's different and I'll talk to each guy individually, all 90 about that if they want. But, when you've got to make a decision about what's best for the team, I'm always going to make a decision to provide our guys with a safe place to play football so they can get better at football. I'm just pumped that we did get a big turnout of guys because sometimes it's hard to provide that for players if you don't have 22 people out there. That's why it's hard to play other places. Our guys came in, they wanted to work. They wanted to see what our plan was. I told them some of my concerns, which was mainly this first week with the soft tissues and stuff. I think they agreed. I think they like how the plan is that I've set up. I take a day by day though, and we'll see how it goes."
Kyle, how is QB Jimmy Garoppolo's health? It looked like he was doing okay out there. It's been a while since we've seen him healthy running around at practice.
"Jimmy looks like you guys have always known him. He's been great here these two weeks. I haven't seen him for these two weeks for a little bit also. His ankle seems totally healed. I haven't even asked him about it because it looks so good. So, I'd be surprised if there's anything lingering from it. He's had a good two days of practice and hopefully we'll give him a few more reps as we get going here and get everyone else in better shape."