Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – August 15, 2022

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Injuries, nothing to add except yesterday [DB] Jimmie Ward pulled his hamstring a little worse than the other guys so he is going to be some time. Besides that, go ahead.”

Is there any update on T Mike McGlinchey and how long he’ll be out and whether that injury that he suffered is in any way related to what he’s been dealing with recently?

“No, it’s not related to that, but I think he’s going to get a PRP or something like that this week, stay off it this week and see how it is next week.”

When you say there’s going to be some time for Jimmie, is there a chance he won’t be ready for Week 1?

“Yeah, there’s a chance. Yeah, it was a pretty bad hamstring injury and it’s not like the other two guys, so we’ll see over here over the next couple weeks how it plays out.”

When do you expect to cut down to 85?

“I think we’re in the process of that right now. It’s always a sensitive subject, so we haven’t told a lot of the guys, but I think you guys know the deal. I think we have to have it done by tomorrow, so it should be sooner than later.”

Your options at safety behind Jimmie, you have DB Tarvarius Moore along with S Talanoa Hufanga, who has played well. Anybody else that’s jumped out?

“We have [S] George [Odum], who’s done a good job. We probably will have to add some more people there, especially with [CB] Dontae [Johnson], because Dontae has done a real good job also. But he might be out this week too with his rib cartilage, so we’ll see how it goes with the roster. We might move our nickels around a little bit just for some guys, but hopefully we’ll get some more guys in here soon.”

Where is CB Jason Verrett right now? Obviously, he’s probably not practicing this week, but is there a chance he starts practicing before the season?

“I haven’t asked on him in about a week. I know his expectations are to do that, but like I said earlier, we’re going to be real smart with that. We’re not going to let him go until he is more than ready to go, so we’ll see how these next two weeks go. But it probably would surprise me for Week 1.”

Technically if he starts practicing, are you not allowed to put him back on PUP?

“Right, so we wouldn’t want to throw him out there to see. We’d have to know before we threw him out there.”

QB Trey Lance said he slid for the first time against the Packers. What was his coaching points last year as far as sliding?

“Same as this year.”

To slide?

“Yeah.”

Were you one of the people on the sideline that was yelling for him to slide?

“No. I was expecting him to. I was glad he did. That’s something the guys have to get used to. It seems like an easy thing, but it’s not as easy as people act, especially when you have a certain style your whole career. He went into games planning to do that last year too. Sometimes your personality and the nature of how you play the position takes over and you don’t do what you’re planning on doing, so it’s good to see him stick with the plan.”

Did you mention Tarvarius Moore among those who could fill in for Ward?

“Yeah.”

Is he the first guy up in that rotation?

“Not necessarily. I think all those guys are pretty neck-and-neck, so we’ll mix it around out there with them today.”

And there’s been a few hamstring strains in the last couple days or last couple practices. Is that something you would expect at this point in training camp?

“Not really. No. It’s kind of been bothersome to me. I think they’ve all come after our days off. I think it’s been a real challenge of this camp, more than any we’ve been in with just how it’s spaced out with these games and our day off rules and to really get in a groove for guys, once you get about two days in, they’re getting a day off, sometimes two days off. So I think our biggest challenge has been these off days, how to come back from them if you look at the three who’ve had them.”

What kind of camp has TE George Kittle had and have you seen anything different from him or steps forward or anything?

“No, I think Kittle’s biggest thing was getting back to feeling totally healthy. That’s why we were real smart with him in OTAs. He didn’t do much at all there. And we’ve eased him into camp and I think he’s in a good spot right now. I’d like him to continue getting work, so he can get all the rust off and things like that, but our goal for Kittle is making sure he is a 100-percent for Week 1.”

How was TE Charlie Woerner feeling after his first practice yesterday?

“He just did individually yesterday. That was a good start. Hopefully we get him against Minnesota some this week.”

Nothing’s changed with QB Jimmy Garoppolo and will he be traveling?

“No, no changes on that.”

We spoke to OL Colton McKivitz yesterday and he was talking about his season last year. It started with him getting cut and on practice squad for a while and then ultimately starting in that big Week 18 game. Did you see that steady progress from him throughout the season? Did he see being cut as a challenge?

“Yeah, big time. Those are things you always want to avoid with guys. And Colton, we had been with him for a couple years and then we cut him and I really feel like it woke him up. Not that he was negative before. I mean, the guy always works hard, but sometimes when guys get cut they realize how this isn’t forever and how every single second counts. And I think, just talking to him, that’s what he’s articulated and that’s what we’ve seen on film. That’s what we’ve seen on the practice field ever since that. He was a solid player before, but he’s gotten so much better since then. And you try to tell all those guys that, can you have that epiphany without getting cut? But fortunately for him we cut him, he was able to his hang around here and I think we’ve got a pretty good player right now.”

Trey last year when he would talk to us was pretty vanilla, but he is really, I’m not saying like Comedy Central material, but he is really showing a lot of personality and he’s pretty funny. Is that what we see as kind of a transformation? Has that happened behind the scenes or was he kind of himself even as a rookie?

“I think he was himself. I think it takes everyone time to get comfortable with talking to the media and everyone’s scared to say something bad and mess up. So sometimes people aren’t as relaxed and are themselves the more they get relaxed and don’t worry as much about saying bad things or getting more comfortable with their long, slow questions. They get more relaxed and I think everyone’s like that. And Trey’s a very personable guy. He’s a funny guy. And so the more you guys are around him, the more comfortable he is and the more you’ll see that.”

Now that you’ve seen him work and prepare all offseason as the starting quarterback, how impressive has he been in that in his maturity and professionalism?

“It’s what we’ve expected. I’m not going to sit there and I mean, that’s what you expect. That’s why we wanted him and he’s been how we expected and I think when you’re like that and you have the skillset and you can keep stacking days together, it’s a matter of time before you get to a certain level.”