The NFL handed down its punishment for San Francisco 49ers principal owner Jed York on Friday, suspending him for six games and fining him $500,000 following his legal issues in August.
York has already missed the team's first three games, leaving three more before he can officially return.
When Mike Evans was asked about the punishment, the veteran wide receiver admitted that he hadn't even heard the news.
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"This is my first time hearing that," Evans said.
Evans stressed that it's the players' job to ignore outside noise and focus on their responsibilities. For him, that has meant working through a rib injury this week and doing everything possible to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
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The 49ers' communications staff typically gives Kyle Shanahan a rundown of potential talking points ahead of each press conference, so the head coach was prepared to discuss York's suspension. However, when asked about his reaction to the punishment, Shanahan kept his response brief.
"Not much of a reaction," Shanahan said. "Just waiting to hear the news, and now we know how it's going to be. It's already been three weeks like that, just working that way, and we've got three more weeks of it."
York's absence hasn't changed the 49ers' day-to-day process much, and Shanahan doesn't expect it to change moving forward.
Shanahan was also asked whether York's absence could affect how the team handles potential trades, particularly if a situation arises that would normally require the owner's approval.
The 49ers head coach said he and general manager John Lynch would likely bring any major decisions to team co-chairman John York, Jed's father. But ultimately, it would likely be up to Shanahan and Lynch.
"I'd probably mention it to John, talk to him that way," Shanahan said. "It's something that I don't think about too much because of how good Jed's been here for our 10 years. There's never been a situation where we've gone to him with a trade or anything like that, and then him say no or anything like that.
"If it's something that the football people believe and think we should do, he's always been fully supportive of [it]. So, I expect it to be no different if something like that comes up."
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