Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – November 29, 2024

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Alright guys, injuries for the game: [OL] Aaron Banks will be out, [DL] Jordan Elliott, out, [DB] Deommodore Lenoir, out, [DL] Nick Bosa, out, [T] Trent Williams, out, [LB Dre] Greenlaw, out, [LB Demetrius] Flannigan-Fowles, questionable, [WR] Chris Conley, questionable, [DL] Kevin Givens, questionable, [CB] Renardo Green, questionable, [QB] Brock Purdy, questionable. Go ahead.”

How did Brock fair the last two practices?

“It was good. It was great to get him back out there. He was able to go fully today, so it was a good day.”

Full practice?

“Yeah.”

That would suggest that if he’s full he’s playing on Sunday?

“It would suggest that.”

Is that what you’re saying? He will play on Sunday?

“Yes. I mean, lots of things can happen between now and then, but right now he’s playing, so he’s doing good. He had a good day.”

What’s CB Charvarius Ward’s situation? Do you expect him to step in and start or play?

“Yeah, we expect him to play. He had a good week of practice. So it’s looking like he’s trending towards playing and excited to get him back out there with us.”

With Lenoir, is that a bruise? That’s not ligament damage, right? It’s just a banging of the knee and just deep bone bruise?

“Yeah, it’s kind of like a quad contusion, but it’s right on the bone, so it’s in that same area. It kind of acts like one. Tried to go all week and just couldn’t get it to go.”

How do you fill in for Banks? What’s the plan?

“We’ll see on Sunday, but one of our guys will be up playing that spot.”

What are your memories of your 2020 game against the Bills?

“Not loving the situation we were in. We were living in Arizona, living in a hotel. It wasn’t a fun time in any of our lives there. We were in a hotel, but we weren’t allowed to go outside of our room, see people or anything like that. We got to meet at practice and meet at the stadium on game day. But that wasn’t a very fun game. [Buffalo Bills QB] Josh [Allen] had a hell of a game, they played some good defense and it was a tough loss.”

Do you get involved at all in like just with the weather situation potentially? How much do you pay attention to that in the days leading up to it? How much do you communicate with director of equipment operations Jay Brunetti about just what you guys need for the sideline?

“Not much. Jay Bird’s going to get as much stuff as he can. You’re going to have the heated benches and guys have the coats for when they come off. Guys usually do a pretty good job staying warm in between series and when you get out playing. I wish I could go out there and run around a little bit instead of just standing, freezing. But no, guys got experience doing it. It was cold in Green Bay, I’m sure it’ll be colder here, but it’s just part of the deal. We pay attention to it. Not necessarily how cold always, but mainly the wind, snow and stuff like that. And I know how it is there right now. I’m sure it’s going to be like that the next couple days, but we kick off at eight on Sunday so a lot can change. I know in Buffalo sometimes it can so snow three feet in one spot and not snow 20 minutes away. So you’ve really got to be ready for anything and deal with whatever it is at eight.”

With the wind, is there any thought about with Brock that he needs all that strength in his shoulder to be able to throw in that wind? Does that give you any apprehension at all?

“Well, I think everybody struggles to throw in that wind, even when you’re healthy. So it depends on how much, how fast that wind’s going. And I think that’s kind of relevant for anybody. But Brock wouldn’t be playing if he wasn’t 100-percent at it. So I think the fact that he’s going to be playing means he’s healthy.”

LB Fred Warner said he has a fracture in his ankle. He has been playing with it for like two months. Is there any concern of you might have to shut him down at some point? Looking at the numbers, I’m sure that has affected his play in some way. Is there concern it could get worse or it just won’t be able to play with it at some point?

“No, that’s why we took him off the injury report a couple months ago or whatever. He hasn’t needed to get rehab for it. Nothing’s been changed for anything in practice. Lots of guys are banged up right now, but he wouldn’t be playing if it could get worse.”

How did Greenlaw make it through the week?

“He had a real good week. It was great for him to get him back out there. It was great for us. We loved having him around, just that first week of coming off an Achilles. I think it’s so crucial for the confidence of a guy. Got a lot of scout-team reps, did a lot of individual stuff with the guys and it was great week and hopefully next week will be even better.”

I know coming into this week you guys pretty much already determined he wasn’t going to play. Are your minds open next week that potentially he could play here?

“I think they’re open to it, but also the game after that’s a Thursday night game. So I think that makes it a little harder. We’ve just got to see how he feels and stuff. But with those games being so close, that’s a problem too. I’m not going to decide at all right now. We’ll see how next week goes, but I’d say it’d be an outside chance.”

Did he show flashes where he was moving like Dre?

“Oh, yeah. When guys come back, they come back healthy. Guys come back and they can move, they’ve got fresh legs, they can go. But it’s about getting that confidence to react. They’ve been moving full-speed for a while before they come back to football, but when you come back to football it’s not really planned running and stuff. You’ve got to react and cover people and backpedal and stop on a dime and go explode forward. So, it’s more about guys just getting that confidence because it’s such a traumatic injury ripping your Achilles and stuff. He moved great, it’s just about building that stamina, building that confidence up so he’s ready to get into a football game.”

Do you have you any sense of when Trent or Bosa could return?

“No. We understand kind of what’s wrong with them, it’s just kind of how it heals. And the guys, Trent especially, hasn’t been healing the way we hoped. Hopefully they’ve got a better chance next week. But they ended up never getting back into practice this week so ended up not being that close.”

Will they stay behind?

“Yes, they will.”

All the guys who are out will stay behind?

“I believe so.”