Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – August 4, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Kyle what was the decision to release K Greg Joseph? Can you explain that?

“More just the roster numbers. I would’ve loved to keep him longer allowed them to play that out longer. But, we had 13 guys out at practice today. We got five guys on PUP. It’s just too many people to have that luxury. It’s awesome to have two kickers to allow them to battle, but they’re not guys who really take reps. We need more people to take reps for us.”

Is the competition final?

“He’s not here, but whether you have one kicker in the building or two, which you rarely have two. Kickers always know they’re competing with whoever’s out there. So, I don’t see much of a difference.”

Do you have enough numbers to do this joint practice with the Broncos versus last year with the Saints when you had to cancel it?

“Yeah, it’s easier when it’s one day than two and we’ll have to be smart at some positions. I’m sure they have some issues too. I’ll talk to Sean [Payton] here the day before and we’ll find a way to make it work.”

What do you like about QB Carter Bradley more than QB Tanner Mordecai that caused you to make that decision?

“We brought him in not thinking we’d make a move that day, but he did so well in our workout that we went back and watched his 38 passes that he had in the preseason last year. We wanted to get him in here so he could compete with Tanner. Then after some of the things that happened in the last practice, there was a number of D-linemen, and we just couldn’t have the luxury to have two of them. Especially with [QB Kurtis] Rourke being on PUP too because he counts. Maybe there’s a chance we can get Tanner back. We’ll see how this roster goes. But we’d like the chance to work with Bradley right now.”

Does DL Nick Bosa have an injury?

“No. We just gave him off today, vet day”

What happened to FB Kyle Juszczyk?

“Kyle got his Achilles stepped on, just cut it a little sore. So, he is day-to-day with that.

Are any of the recent injuries longer than the day to day more serious?

“Yes. [DL] Kevin Givens hurt his pec similar to last year, so he’s going to be out for a while. That would be sometime during the season. [DL] Sam O [Okuayinonu] is going to be out probably a couple weeks, most likely with a groin injury. [RB] Isaac Guerendo has a shoulder injury, he’s going to be out for a few weeks also. Those are the main ones.”

What about DL Evan Anderson?

Evan is about this week. He’s got a knee bruise; those can get better in a day. Sometimes they take a week, so we just got to see how that goes.

What injury does S Ji’Ayir Brown have?

“Ankle. He might try to get in later in this week, just depending on his rehab. He got surgery on it this summer, it just flared it up a little and we’re just being smart with him right now.”

Anything new on WR Jauan Jennings?

“Same thing with his calf.”

It’s definitely health related, not business related?

“You can ask him that, but he tells me it’s his calf and the calf shows. So, got to be delicate with those calves.”

Has K Jake Moody showed some evidence that he’s kind of steadying himself and letting some things out?

“It shows, he is kicking the ball very well right now. So was Greg too. But you know, Moody’s got a lot of talent and he’s been kicking the ball very well, hopefully that continues.”

WR Ricky Pearsall had a nice practice on Saturday. What have you seen from him?

“Really that he is just getting back into it. I thought he had his best practice last Saturday and maybe had a better one today. So, his reps are finally going up. He’s been allowed to get into one-on-one here the last couple days. His reps are getting closer to the normal reps for all the other receivers. I think his first normal day will probably be versus Denver. But he is almost fully back and that’ll allow him to go through some things to get better and prepare for the year.”

Has CB Upton Stout improved this off season? How well is he playing right now?

“I think he’s doing a really good job. I think he’s had a hell of a training camp. He was a guy that, knowing that nickel position was open, you know, was one of the reasons we invested that draft pick, and I’m hoping he can come in and do it right away. He looked that way in OTAs, and he is looking that way so far.”

Defensive passing game specialist/defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks was saying yesterday that he sees Stout like watching old film all the time. He’s always very early. Have you seen that from him too? What, what does that say about just him as a rookie?

“He’s made it the right stuff. A lot of guys got to learn it, but he hasn’t had to learn it. You can tell he was that way in college because he came in right away like that. He’s on everything. He’s one of the bigger competitors that I’ve seen coming in as a rookie, and every day he is doing as much as he can on and off the field. That’s why he’s passing a lot of guys up.”

What are your impressions of the O-line after the first half of camp?

“Our starters are just the same as always. They’ve done a solid job; it’s been nice to get [OL Ben] Bartch back in there with him missing the first two weeks. So, I think this was his third practice with no setback. So that’s encouraging. Then all the guys after them. We’ve got a group of young guys; we have some one-year guys we brought in as free agents back in January or at the end of last season and all those guys are competing. We got to see how our backups end up. We got a new left guard with losing [Aaron] Banks, but after that it’s opened for all the depth everywhere.”

OL Dominick Puni delivered so much last year as a rookie. In theory, he takes an even bigger jump this year from first year to second year. Are you seeing that?

“Not yet. It will tell as the year goes. I mean he jumped out the gate so fast last year because we had an injury to our starter and our backup within the first two practices. So, he got thrown in there right away, had a hell of a year. He’s doing a good job as usual, but right now we’re in the middle of camp. All those guys are pretty tired out there, but I always say you’re getting better or worse. So, I hope he takes a step forward this year.”

Is DL Mykel Williams’ ankle injury still hindering him in any way?

“No. I mean we give him a rep count. We’re careful with him on it, but it’s not a high ankle sprain or anything like he had last year. He zinged it a little bit ago, but it wasn’t a high ankle so we’re just always aware of that and careful.”

When is DL Yetur Gorss-Matos expected to return?

“We’re hoping Raiders week. We’ve started a rep up his D-line work off the field, so hopefully he’ll have a chance next week.

Is CB Renardo Green on track for the Raiders week too?

“Yeah, same thing.”

Last year you guys were 32nd in wide receiver separation. This year you’re adding a lot of speed. WR Andy Isabella and WR Robbie Chosen, is that by design? Do you have a change in philosophy with what you want to see with the wide receivers?

“No, we just try to get the best available. Sometimes that’s the fastest guy available. Sometimes it’s the biggest, strongest, whatever it is. You try to always have 12 guys in training camp, and we got a few guys that are hurt and can’t go. Especially with [WR Brandon Aiyuk] BA because he’s got a count on your roster with him being on PUP. So, we’re down on numbers there. Those guys run all camp and would always love to add more speed if it’s available and if they’re good players. Those are two guys who can run that we were happy to add. Isabella went down with an ankle today, so I know he had a setback, so we didn’t get him out there today. Hopefully it’s not too bad though.”

Because he’s familiar with the system, was it easier to add Chosen to the roster?

“If they have familiarity with the system, it makes it a lot easier. Sometimes when you sign a guy you need those reps, but they can’t line up for about a week. So anytime somebody has crossover it helps them get in there and help out the other guys faster.”

Bartch was a tight end for most of his life until later in college. Can you see with his movement things he can do with his body that make him a little more athletic?

“Yeah, he is wired right. We love his talent level in that way. I think a lot of guys who move like that, they did play other positions as they grew up. I remember when we drafted [OL] Duane Brown at Houston, I remember him being a tight end going into college. [T] Trent Williams probably could have played whatever he wanted to. Those guys, the athletic ones, aren’t always lineman their whole life.”

How is TE Luke Farrell’s acclimation to the system?

“He’s done a good job. We brought him in here because we think he’s a really good blocker and can do some things in the pass game. We’re asking him to do some things he hasn’t done before, starting back into OTAs, and he’s been very conscientious of it, getting all the reps of it, and I think getting better at what we’re asking him to do each day.”

How valuable is the joint practice considering your ones are mostly going to go there and not play a lot this preseason?

“I think it’s really valuable. Sometimes you can’t do it. I’d always would like to do it. I’m more excited just going against someone once. In the past I’ve always done two days, and I’m always really excited by the end of the first day. I’m always wishing we didn’t have to go the second day. So, kind of glad we’re ahead of that on this. It’s always good to go against different schemes too. Different players. We’re going against each other every day. Same guys, same scheme. It gets a little bit old and it’s a good way to switch it up.”

Why do you have a preference for just one day?

“Whoever does better the first day. Usually, they get killed the second day and everyone ends up fighting and it just ends up not being worth it. So, I think one day should be a little easier.”

Are you looking forward to practicing against S Talanoa Hufanga and LB Dre Greenlaw if they’re out there?

“I love seeing them. I don’t really like practicing or playing against guys that I really like and have a lot of love for, but I enjoy seeing them.”

With these joint practices Kyle, will you get on the phone with [HC Sean] Payton and hammer out a script, or is that somebody on your staff that does that? Is there some flexibility on the day that practice to switch it up?

“Always. You always got to work together, especially you understand what each team is going through and you got to see how they are. Usually, the team always sends over suggestions, and the home team kind of picks out what you do. They sent a bunch of stuff over. We worked on it yesterday when the players were off, and sure Sean and I will talk the day before he gets here.”

Did you watch The Hall of Fame Game and were you pleased to see QB Trey Lance play well?

“I didn’t watch it but very pleased to see him play well. I’m always pulling for Trey. I love Trey.”

The Broncos’ defense was very good last year. Might be better this year. Are you curious to how your offense will fare against the Broncos?

“Definitely, and not just our offense, our whole team. I think the Broncos have a very good team. They were sneaky good last year. You could see them improve throughout the whole year. They got a bunch of good, young talent and they had a bunch of good players already. So, I expect them to be one of the better teams in the league this year.”

How do you kind of approach practice and maybe you can or cannot tell us, but for tomorrow, being that you guys are off on Wednesday, guys like DL Nick Bosa, RB Christian McCaffrey and FB Kyle Juszczyk are they all back out there?

“Yeah, we’ll get all those guys back out there. Tomorrow we’ll be like we have low, medium and high days. It’ll be a medium day for us with reps. On Wednesday we won’t have them practice, but we’ll walk-through Denver stuff, so they have an idea knowing what fronts and stuff and schemes are going against. And then Thursday should be our most reps of any practice and we try to build up to 40 and that’s our first day of that.”

Do you have a plan for the preseason game at all about who’s going to play?

“Not yet. We will decide that after the practices, but we don’t play many starters in the first game. But definitely don’t just rest all 22 either. So, we got to figure out how to get through the game, what’s best for our guys, what’s best for our team. I got an idea of it, but got to watch how these two practices go first.”

Some coaches think that you could get more from these joint practices than the actual preseason games. Where do you stand?

“Yeah, I agree with that. You know what you’re going to get, you can set it up and you can make sure everyone gets a certain amount of work, you can into certain games and there’s certain things you’d like to see, but you’re competing and stuff. You don’t always know what’s going to happen, who’s in there, the type of groups there are and stuff. Sometimes you have one guy you want to see in there, but you can’t do certain things because of the rest of the group that’s in there. So usually in practice you can make sure you get to see all the stuff you want.”

Talking about BA’s presence since OTAs as a player coach, how important or valuable has it been to keep him engaged in that way and helping along some of the younger guys and the guys in that room?

“I think it’s very valuable. It’s so hard on these guys when they’re hurt because meetings aren’t the most fun and when you go out there and watch football, all you do is think about how bad it sucks that you’re not playing. So that stuff wears on those guys. And they focus on the rehab so much to get back, but then when you get back, you’re a little bit rusty you don’t hear things every day. It’s so good to have BA in the meetings out on the field doing all that stuff. So, when he is ready to go back, he can leave right where he left off.”

Since you mentioned BA being out there, he’s interested in leading the wide receiver meetings now? They could be fake, but I did read that on Twitter.

“[Laughs] I missed that on Twitter, but I hope our receiver coaches lead in the meetings, and I hope BA’s very involved. But I’ll check with Twitter [laughs].”

Greg Papa is always around in the building. How much has he been missed this summer?

“Oh, we love having Papa around. He watches everything, eavesdrops, sometimes a little too much. We got to back him up. But no, we love Greg. I love doing my TV show with him. He’s been awesome. I was telling my kids about that, and my youngest daughter didn’t know his name and then Carter imitated his voice when the Niners score touchdowns and stuff. So, she knew exactly who he was then. But Greg’s awesome. We’re all pulling for him and he’s in a battle but battle we know he is going to win.”