San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters following Friday's practice, providing final updates ahead of the team's Week 6 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here's everything he said.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"Injuries for the game. [WR] Ricky [Pearsall] will be out. [WR] Jordan Watkins, calf, out. [QB] Brock Purdy, toe, out. [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos], knee/hamstring, out. [DL] Kevin Givens, pec, out. [WR] Jauan Jennings, questionable, ankle/rib. [DL] Alfred [Collins], knee, questionable. [CB Upton] Stout, ankle, questionable. [QB] Mac Jones, knee/oblique, questionable. [DL] Kalia Davis, hand, questionable. [S Malik] Mustapha, knee, questionable. Go ahead."
Did you see enough from Mac today to alleviate any fears you may have had yesterday? What was the situation yesterday where he was not throwing?
"He was just limited with his throwing. Today's always a lot better. Everything's walk-through, so everyone did pretty good today."
Does that trace more to the oblique or did he have arm cramps from the last game?
"I do know, but I don't have to tell. So, it has to do with his knee/oblique."
When will you make the determination on Mac if he's able to go? Is that tomorrow? Is that a game-time decision?
"Pretty much already have, but you've got to put it that way if there's any doubt at all. So pretty much already have."
So, you have very little doubt that he'll be able to play?
"I mean, it's all recorded. I don't think I have to repeat my answer. Third time, I'm not going to (laughter)."
What's the plan for QB Kurtis Rourke this year?
"We should open his window soon. It's getting really close to. Probably a few weeks away. I mean, it could be anywhere from next week to a few weeks, but he's close, he's moving good. It'll be soon."
Do you expect him to go to the practice squad? How would you kind of place a rookie who didn't have spring or training camp onto the roster?
"Yeah, I think that's a lot. I think he'll look good when he is ready to go in those three weeks, but someone who has missed all of the offseason and everything, that would be tough to call him next man up or any situation like that. So that's why, he probably could have gone this week, especially with us being down at quarterback and everything, but we'd like to wait until he is fully healthy. We're not going to put him up just for that reason. So, we'll see how his three weeks go and if it makes sense on our roster and he can do it, then we'll do that and if not we'll shut him down."
Against the Rams, there were a few times where it looked like QB Adrian Martinez would have to go in. Do you have an idea of like, these are the package of plays, these are the plays he's comfortable with that he knows? I mean, can you plan that far in advance or do you just wing it if he has to enter the game?
"Yeah, I mean, to a degree. This week's been nice for him because he's gotten a lot more reps with the ones this week, just filling in for Mac and stuff. So, we've been able to see him on tape more instead of just running cards and things like that. So, got a better feeling this week than I have in the past few weeks. You always try to keep it as simple as you can for guys in that situation, give him certain things, he tells you things he's the most comfortable with and then you try to isolate on that stuff. But, when you get into a game, it's about the situation. So, you try to make it as easy as possible, but you do what you have to do based off how the game's going."
The camera panned to you when Mac was grabbing at his knee or his leg and understandably you did not look thrilled. Do you recall what was going through your mind? It looked like Mac obviously wasn't going to be able to finish that game.
"I can't, but I think that the camera pans to me during the game, I'd say 95-percent of the time I don't look that thrilled. Just game time, we're focused on stuff and I was trying to figure out what happened to him. I didn't see it, I'm looking down the field, it looked pretty bad. So, I didn't have the best feelings at all for sure and was waiting to see it on the board and couldn't see anything bad on the board. And then when he ran off the field I felt a lot better and moved on with my life. So, I can't remember exactly how I felt at that moment, but it wasn't good."
Do you ever have football nightmares that wake you up in the middle of the night?
"Yeah. Who doesn't? I don't know. I'm usually too tired. I fall back asleep pretty fast. No, I don't have any in particular. It's more about all the stuff you went over that day, all the stuff you feel like you are thinking about because you can't go to sleep. Then all the stuff that you feel you've got to do about four hours later. So, it's like that during the season. That's why the three days off are nice, you catch up and see how long it can take you."
You've used FB Kyle Juszczyk in a lot of different ways. What would you say evaluating his whole game? What's his greatest skill, you think?
"His greatest is how good of a fullback he is. Just how good he is at moving full speed through traffic and being able to fill out space and get to his assignments and get to the right people. Just his feel in space and when he gets there he's got the power to block people, he's got the technique. He's extremely smart, not just because he went to Harvard, it's actually real. He can handle anything we give him. When you play fullback at that level, people have to honor what a fullback does compared to a third receiver, which changes personnel. Then when it comes to putting him in other spots, it doesn't matter really what it is. He's got as good of hands as anyone I've seen on the team. And he's not scared of the moment. He makes big plays and he is fearless."
Could RB Christian McCaffrey be a full-time slot receiver if he wanted to be?
"Yeah, definitely. He might not be the best in the League at it like he is at running back, but he definitely could make it as a slot receiver without a doubt."
Has TE Jake Tonges given you the confidence that he can contribute even when TE George Kittle comes back and takes the lion's share of reps?
"Yeah, definitely. Jake's given us a lot of confidence. Him just coming into this role out of nowhere versus Seattle and finishing the game that way and then just each week he's been thrown in a lot of situations he hasn't been in before and I think he's rose to the occasion on all of them. Some of the catches you guys have seen him make, how much better I think he's getting in the run game. Some of the hits he's taken in a couple of these games where I've thought we've lost him. It happened early, I think on the first drive versus Jacksonville, and it happened later in the game versus the Rams and for him to get back right out there and I think he only missed a couple plays and to keep going. I've been really impressed with Jake and that's why he is earning a role in a lot of ways."
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