The San Francisco 49ers have dealt with their share of injuries at wide receiver early this season, but Kyle Shanahan isn't asking Brock Purdy to suddenly change the way he plays because a familiar face isn't in the lineup. Instead, the 49ers adjust the offense around the available players.
Veteran WR Mike Evans is dealing with a rib injury heading into Sunday's matchup with the Denver Broncos and is considered a game-time decision, while Brandin Cooks is set to make his 49ers debut after being promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. That creates plenty of uncertainty for Shanahan and his coaching staff, particularly when they don't know until game day whether a player like Evans will be able to play.
But Purdy's job remains relatively simple. "The quarterback's goal is, when you have new guys in there, to not try to get consumed with it and affect how you play," Shanahan told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. "The quarterback's job is hard, and you got to make sure you just do your job."
That means Purdy isn't entering the game thinking he needs to compensate for the absence of a particular receiver. He runs the play, works through the progression, and throws the ball based on what the defense gives him.
"Brock's never going to force it to one guy or play favorites," Shanahan said. "He's going to run the play, and if it's not there, he's going to go try to make an off-schedule."
The complicated part happens before the game. When the 49ers lose a receiver, Shanahan and his staff don't simply designate another player as that receiver's replacement and leave everything else intact. They look at the individual routes within the offense and determine which available players are best suited to run them.
Shanahan said they determine who the most talented guys are for specific routes.
"A new guy, it's not, 'Oh, he's most talented in every route,'" Shanahan explained. "It's like, 'Oh, he is on these three, but these guys are on these three. What about this guy on this one?'"
That's how the 49ers build out the game plan. A receiver might be the preferred option on one particular route but not another. Another player might have a better matchup or skill set for something else.
The process becomes even more complicated when the team doesn't know whether an injured player will actually be available. Shanahan said the 49ers may prepare one way if Evans is expected to play and then have to adjust if he can't go.
"And so you got to be ready that guys are learning these new things they worked on each week," Shanahan said. "But they also got to study everything because whether he goes or not, or if he goes and something happens in the game, everything gets adjusted."
That's what happened against Arizona last week. When Evans went down, the 49ers had to move players around and alter responsibilities on the fly. Shanahan said he was particularly proud of how the group handled the situation without making too many mistakes.
The approach also explains why the 49ers don't simply change their offensive philosophy every time a key player is unavailable. Instead, they try to preserve the structure of the offense while changing who is responsible for individual pieces of it.
Sometimes, Shanahan said, the adjustment can be as simple as removing a play entirely. Other times, the play stays in the game plan but the preferred target changes based on the matchup. Shanahan's message is essentially that the offense has to adapt without becoming something completely different.
The names may change. The routes may shift. Certain plays might disappear from the game plan. But Purdy's job stays the same: run the offense, work through his reads, and take what the defense gives him.
Watch the full interview below:
More info on: Brandin Cooks, Mike Evans, Brock Purdy
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