San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters during a conference call on Monday, the day after the team's 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here's everything he said.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"Injuries from yesterday. [LB] Fred Warner did have a fractured/dislocated ankle, his surgery is set for tomorrow. Nothing else from the game right now. Updates on players who missed the game. We've got [WR] Jordan Watkins with his calf, expect to get him back in practice this week. [WR] Ricky [Pearsall] with his knee, still evaluating it. Whether he can come back this week, we'll have to see him on Wednesday. [QB] Brock Purdy similar with his toe. Hopefully he can get back in and do a little bit more this week. [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos] with his hamstring, we'll have to continue to rehab. And our IR guys, [DL] Kevin Givens will continue to practice and we're expecting to get [TE] George Kittle back into practice this week. Go ahead."
Do you have an approximate timeframe on how long it'll take Fred to get back on the field?
"No, I don't. No. I'm not expecting this year."
Do you know if training camp for next year is a likelihood or possibility?
"Yeah, I would think it'd be strongly. I think usually things like this are around three months. But, I haven't asked all the questions you guys are asking me yet, but I assume he'll be good for the offseason workouts and stuff like that."
When you weigh a 4-2 start and three wins in the division against kind of the shock and disappointment of what happened yesterday with Fred, how difficult is it to get your team to refocus on that 4-2 record and where you are?
"I mean, I don't really try to get us to focus on anything from the past. It's about what's happening going forward. The reality is we lost another really good player. But, what are we going to do about it? There's lots of stuff I can show our guys and stuff from the tape that's very encouraging of some real good things [LB] Tatum [Bethune] did when he went in and replaced him. I think we've got a lot of young guys doing some real good things on defense. But, what type of team are we going to become going forward? I think we have players here we can win with, but it makes it harder to make mistakes and things like that. I thought that was something we did too much of yesterday. Those are the things I'm really focused on now about if we want to make something out of our record going forward of what we've already accomplished with that 4-2. Guys got to keep getting better. We've got to put pressure on some veterans to play the best that they can. And these rookies who I believe are coming along need to put the pressure on themselves to clean up the mistakes."
On the defensive bust in the second quarter that led to the 34-yard touchdown, the TV announcers suggested that that could have been related to Fred Warner's absence, that he would've normally been the guy kind of straightening things out pre-snap. Is that the case and what exactly happened on that bust?
"Yeah, I think that's fair on that one. You have a change of strength motion and someone's peeling for a back and it's a real tough one that a bunch of different things to go through it, but it's something like, Tatum had a lot on his plate. He came in and I thought he did a lot of good things getting us lined up, but I think that's something he'll be a lot more ready for next week getting all the reps and things like that. No one can be as good as Fred at those types of things, but that's something I expect Tatum to be able to handle in the future."
On the play that Fred got hurt, why wasn't there anybody at right defensive end?
"Because he was out on special teams, we thought he was out there and he came off the field. We didn't realize it until the snap and needed 11 out there. Would've called a timeout if I saw it, but I didn't and it was an unfortunate mistake."
Who was the player that was on special teams that should have been out on the field?
"It doesn't matter, but we should have had another D-End out there."
Are we still in the same situation in regard to WR Brandon Aiyuk making his way back? Still no timeframe at all?
"Yeah, no timeframe. I mean, I always look around that week 10 thing, but we're not putting an exact date on it. I know he is rehabbing really hard and has put together a few good weeks here. Hopefully he's getting closer and closer, which I believe he is. But no, we're not giving an exact date on it."
After the game, DB Deommodore Lenior spoke about the fact that it's on him now, being that he now is one of the few captains healthy, especially on defense. What are the added responsibilities now without DL Nick Bosa and Fred Warner?
"When it comes to that stuff, a MIKE linebacker directs the traffic, just like a center or a quarterback does on offense. So that's more position based. You don't have the corners making the calls and everything for your front and strengths and where the pressures come from. But, I like Dmo talking that way. Guys who have been here and guys who have played at a higher level, yeah we need them playing their best at all times, especially in a situation like this. But, it doesn't mean that guys just start making stuff up and doing stuff that they don't have to do. Dmo's been one of our better players here over the last few years and I love that he is basically, in my opinion, saying he needs to play that way every week now going forward more than ever."
How often is it that a player who had an injury like Fred did addresses the team after the game like he did?
"I'd say not a ton. I've seen guys do it before. It's not something you ever ask a guy to do or anything like that. You never know where guys are with the injuries and stuff. Sometimes they can't even function at that point depending on when it happened in the game. But, it was cool to have Fred come out and do that, asked to do it and he was in a good place. Guys were hurting for him big time. Fred's not only as impressive of a football player I've ever been around, but as impressive of a human as I've ever been around. And the foundation and base he has just as a man and how he lives his life, you guys read his quotes and stuff and how he's looking at this, and that's as real as can be when you hear how he speaks. That's why we know he will come back next year stronger than ever."
President of football operations and general manager John Lynch was talking last week about he was being pretty aggressive about trying to find a pass rusher to fill the void left by Bosa. With Fred out for the season, does it make you guys less inclined to be active buyers at the trade deadline?
"I don't think we were being that aggressive. We're looking for things that make sense for our team right now and in the future. Not having Fred makes that harder, but I don't see a big difference between Sunday before that game started and today. It definitely hurts losing a guy like Fred, but in terms of people who are available that can improve our team for this year and next year, I don't see the situation that much different."
What led to S Jason Pinnock being a guy that played every single snap for every game and then nothing yesterday and just two special team snaps?
"He was the starting safety for the first five weeks. We thought [S] Ji'Ayir Brown had been earning some time at safety and we knew with [S Malik] Mustapha coming back we were going to start rotating and getting Mustapha in there so he could eventually take that over. We know Mustapha is going to be one of the starters out there. It was nothing against Jason. We just knew we had to make a decision to rotate one of those guys with Mustapha and we went with rotating Mustapha and [S Marques] Sigle which gave really that week to give Tig his opportunity to play a whole game at safety. The other two had gotten the previous five weeks and we thought Tig deserved it. We thought Pinnock would get into some big-nickel roles, just like Tig had in the previous three weeks. Just big nickel didn't become a factor in that game the way it played out."
What did you see from Mustapha in this game and do you think he'll be ready for the full-time role this coming week?
"Yeah, probably more about talking to him and how his body felt, really how it feels kind of today and tomorrow, how he does in practice this week. But, I think he got about 20 plays and he looked good and moved around, flew around. He was ready for that moment and I liked that we were able to get him in there, do all that stuff and get him out healthy. Hopefully it'll be closer to that this week."
What do you do with that other safety spot? Is it kind of a week-to-week thing? Who would start alongside Mustapha?
"I think we've got three guys who are capable there and those are what all those three guys are battling for. I don't think one guy's fully taken it and run with it like Mustapha did last year. So that's something that we're going to continue to evaluate. But, I don't think any of that's set in stone. We're trying to hope that they make that decision for us."
How would you assess Ji'Ayir Brown's performance yesterday?
"I thought he did a decent job. I thought he was physical. I thought he made some plays, not too many mistakes. I thought Tig was solid."
OL Dominick Puni seems to be struggling. Is he still feeling the effects of his preseason injury? What are you seeing from Puni?
"I think Dom has played better before in his rookie year. I think it was a big injury coming into this season, which was a huge setback for him and has made things more difficult. I'm sure that hasn't made things easier for him, but a lot of guys are battling stuff and I've got a lot of confidence in Dom. He's played at a high level for us before, so I expect him to do it again."
Is there a timetable for OL Ben Bartch to come back open the practice window for him this week? And along with that, what's your assessment of OL Connor Colby at left guard?
"Yeah Bartch, I didn't get anything for this week. So, I'm not assuming this week. Hopefully in the next couple weeks. Connor's getting a lot of experience, he's playing which is going to really help him in the future. I think nothing's perfect. I think he's got a number of good plays and a number of plays he'd like to take back. But, I think this is a moment in his career that is going to help him going forward and not hurt him."
You addressed the sideline stuff with WR Jauan Jennings after the game, but he then told us, he detailed his injuries that he had five broken ribs, a high ankle sprain, low ankle sprain. Obviously, it's unusual for a player to do that. Are you okay with that and is Jauan in a good mental space at the moment?
"Yeah, I think Jauan's in a good mental space. I think Jauan's a very emotional player. I think that's one of the things that makes him great. So anytime we have a tough loss like that, that he is banged up and playing through a lot of stuff, I don't think he's in the best mood, especially after a loss like that. But, Jauan is good. Jauan battled completely to come play in that game. I know he'll battle it again to do it this week. I've got a lot of love for Jauan and I just hope he can get healthier so he can get back out there and be more consistent for us."
When you said you guys were good, by the time the game was over in the locker room, had you talked to him to clear the air?
"No."
You guys didn't look like you were good in the second quarter. Is it just like that's how you and Jauan roll?
"No, I think when you're in an intense football game and stuff that two people who know each other pretty well and are pretty competitive about things can have really intense conversations that don't always come off as a normal conversation, just hanging out after a press conference with you. But, it's stuff that you don't need to make too many assumptions about because it wasn't anything that big of a deal. Yeah, we were aggressive and intense in our conversations, but I think conversations like that can also lead to making people closer and leading to a better outcome for people."
And then with Kittle, is the hope or expectation that he can play on Sunday since he is returning to practice?
"Yes. That's the hope."
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