Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
Press Conference – November 13, 2026
San Francisco 49ers
Opening comments:
“Injuries. [WR] Mike Evans will be out. [CB] Renardo Green, questionable. [DB Deommodore Lenoir] DMo, questionable. [DB Upton] Stout, questionable. [DL] C.J. West, questionable. [CB Nate] Hobbs, questionable. [T] Trent Williams, questionable. And [LB Dre] Greenlaw, questionable. Go ahead.”
 
What happened to Trent?
“Hurt his shoulder yesterday at practice.”
 
Has it been bugging him at all this year?
“It happened Thursday.”
 
And Dre’s knee?
“And Dre’s knee, same thing.”
 
In terms of Evans, is there any update just in terms of how he’s recovering? It’s been about four weeks.
“It’s been going well. I’m sure if this was the last game or something he’d be able to go out there, but we’re just trying to make sure it fully heals so it doesn’t act up again. But, it’s going in the right direction.”
 
And then WR Keenan Allen?
“He had a good week. Got three good practices in. I know he’s catching up, putting a lot on his plate, working hard to get it and expect him to get more and more each week, but it was a good first start this week.”
 
So he’ll have a role?
“Yeah, he’ll have a role.”
 
Did you say you expect Evans in the next week or so following this game?
“I hope so. I know there’s a chance for next week, but not sure yet.”
 
The FAA shut down air traffic all across the nation. Have there been any discussions about you guys leaving here?
“When did they do that?”
 
A little while ago.
“No.”
 
You guys leave tomorrow though.
“Why’d they do that?”
 
We don’t know yet. Communication issues.
“All right. I didn’t know. I just first heard, so hopefully.”
 
What time are you planning on flying out tomorrow?
“One o’clock.”
 
Will you have a walk-through in the morning?
“Yes. Yeah, it’ll be a normal walk-through time for us. We’re just going to get there a little bit later.”
 
How have preparations been leading into this week? You’re going to be in Colorado leading into Mexico. How have preparations been for this week?
“Pretty good. I haven’t really thought much about the next week yet. We just broke the team down and [TE George] Kittle said I should remind people that we’re leaving for eight days, but he needed to remind me. I know we’re leaving to Dallas tomorrow and when we get on that plane and it says we’re landing in Colorado, it’ll probably click. But, we just hang out in a hotel anyways, get some practices in. Hopefully we can take care of business this week and then we’ll get a couple days off for coaches to game plan and everything. We’ll start up in Colorado Wednesday, then we’ll head to Mexico on Saturday, so looking forward to these two games.”
 
How much does that altitude training help? You guys did it in 2022, the last time you were back down there. How much does that help?
“I think it helps. I grew up mainly in Denver and I always know how bad it would be for me. It didn’t matter how good a shape you’re in. Like when I came home from college, you’d run up the stairs and be out of breath. It takes some time to get used to it. It just is what it is with altitude. I know when you go to play in Denver, it’s always a challenge and I know Mexico City’s higher than Denver. It’s not make or break by any means, but I do think it makes you a couple percent better.”
 
Are you guys preparing to practice indoors at all?
“We’re planning to practice outdoors. Last year it ended up getting in the teens and [United States Air Force Academy head coach] Troy [Calhoun] was awesome. Calhoun, their head coach, changed some schedules around, allowed us to work in their bubble and I think we’re prepared for that this year. It’s supposed to be warmer from what I’ve been told, so hopefully we won’t have to. We’d rather be outside, but if it gets too cold, we’ll go inside.”
 
What’s the concern level with Trent? The fact that he’s questionable probably means it doesn’t seem like it’s something serious?
“It just means he’s questionable. Whatever that means. Anytime you hurt your shoulder on a Thursday, it doesn’t make you totally at ease. Sunday comes fast, but hopefully that’s enough time for him to be all right.”
 
You’ve talked about how well he’s played this year. How important is he to really everything you guys do offensively?
“Huge. The left tackle in general is always huge and then a guy of Trent’s caliber is huge. Just the way he plays out there, down-in and down-out, what he means to the team, just his presence, the type of person he is and just what he brings on game day. But, he’s a captain for a reason and everyone knows Trent Williams is one of the best players in this league.”
 
If there was an issue with Trent, where is OL Austen Pleasants in his recovery and could he be activated if you guys were down on tackles?
“Not now, just because we haven’t unlocked his window to practice yet. We’d have to have him practice first, but he could do that. If this happened early in the week, we’d maybe consider it, but [OL] Vederian’s [Lowe] been doing great. We’ve had [OL Enrique] Cruz [Jr.] working, so we’ve got the numbers there to handle it.”
 
Full systems go for Deebo?
“Yep. He had a good week. Healthy. First week back, so he’s still getting back into it health-wise. I thought he took care of himself real well while he was injured and had a good week.”
 
You guys had free agent P Jack Stonehouse in as a punter tryout. Is that more for WR Jacob Cowing than it is a reflection of P Corliss Waitman?
“Yeah. I didn’t realize that, but I’m assuming he’s right-footed. I’m assuming it was just to have guys catch a right-footed leg. But yeah, I wasn’t even aware of that.”
 
Is it just important to do that every so often?
“Yeah. Just the spin of a ball, always seeing it turn one way and then you get into a game and it’s turning the other way. It’s similar with deep balls when you catch from a left-handed quarterback and then go to a right-handed quarterback. It’s the same with punts. Slightly different, but catching punts is one of the harder things in sports, NFL stadium, so can’t get enough work of it.”
 
With all the injuries you’ve had at wide receiver, how nice is it to have a couple of veteran guys like Keenan Allen and Deebo Samuel, plus some of the young guys who have stepped up?
“Oh yeah, real nice. Not having some of these guys, I thought it was really good for some of these younger guys, guys like Cowing and [WR Jordan] Watkins, just to get the experience, to get better each week. I think it’s helped their game. Then to get these guys back just to make our group stronger. That’s the goal, to get stronger and better as the year goes and I think we are in those areas.”
 
More on that, with Dre being questionable with his knee. What have you seen from LB Jaden Dugger? Obviously he had a great game last game, but he also stepped up in Dre’s role when he was out for that earlier game.
“Washington, I think.”
 
Washington?
“Yeah. Dugger’s been great all year. When Dre got suspended after Seattle, yeah it was Washington. I thought he had a hell of a game then. He had an unbelievable game last week. Just personnel-wise, just what we were in I think he only had like 12 plays, but it was a very impressive 12 plays and he’s shown he can do it for the course of the game based off of Washington. Hopefully we’ll have Dre on Sunday, but if we don’t, next man up and our next man’s proven himself so far.”
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