Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – September 17, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Injuries for practice today. [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos], knee, won’t practice. [FB Kyle Juszczyk] Juice, concussion, won’t practice. [OL Spencer] Burford, knee, won’t practice. [DB] Siran Neal, concussion, won’t practice. [T] Trent Williams, knee/vet day, won’t practice. [WR] Jauan Jennings, ankle/shoulder, won’t practice. [RB Christian] McCaffrey calf/vet day, won’t practice. [DL Nick] Bosa, vet day. [QB] Brock Purdy, left shoulder/toe, will be limited. That’s it.”

With Brock being listed as limited, does that mean he’s progressing well with his toe injury?

“Yeah, he wasn’t limited last week, so yeah.”

Does he have a chance to play on Sunday?

“Yeah, he does have a chance.”

Is there a possibility that he could be the emergency backup on Sunday?

“Yes.”

What are those conversations like between you and Brock Purdy considering you don’t want to rush him back and then QB Mac Jones playing the way he played?

“Mainly just how he’s feeling and how he thinks he can go, what he thinks he can do today, what he thinks he could do tomorrow, Friday and Sunday. Really doesn’t have anything to do with how Mac played, whether it was good or bad. Doesn’t really affect that. I just talk about where Brock’s at right now.”

Is it mostly managing pain?

“I don’t know. You can ask him. I think it’s painful and an injury. So, it’s both.”

You indicated that with Spencer Burford’s injury you need to find out more and that you may have to take it in another direction I think you said. Where do you think he is now?

“We’re still in that same spot. We’re going to see how he responds throughout the week, give him the whole week and assess it as it goes.”

When you looked at the turnover, did you think it was the quarterback hitching one too many times and holding it or is it on the receiver for not getting the separation? What did you guys decide?

“No, it was holding onto it too long. The play we wanted, where we thought it was going to go, wasn’t there. So, Mac had to wait a little bit longer to get the look we weren’t expecting, so I didn’t like the play call. But, yeah to sit there and take three hitches with him that deep, that’s usually what I expect to happen. Would’ve loved for him to get rid of it just one hitch earlier.”

How has WR Kendrick Bourne been getting into the swing of things here?

“I thought he did a good job. Just getting out there, he didn’t get to play a lot in New England, he was injured most of the training camp. So, getting his conditioning back, getting back to learn what our offense is and getting lined up, I thought he had a good first game and made some good catches too.”

When you think of WR Ricky Pearsall, what’s your perspective on the jump he’s made being that he has a real start this season? No touchdowns in the last game, but he was pivotal in the win. What do you think the jump has been for Ricky from last season to this season?

“A lot. Mainly just from practicing. He didn’t get to practice last year really until he came back. He missed training camp with a shoulder and hamstring injury and then right when he came back he got shot. So, when he came back Week 4 or 5, whatever it was, not only was that first time him coming back, but it was kind of his first time practicing too. It’s a little bit of like kind of what [WR] Jordan Watkins has been in, getting hurt real early in camp, and just coming back really last week or whatever it was. But, we saw Ricky get so much better throughout the end of last year being out there and he took it to the offseason. When guys are talented enough and made of the right stuff, it’s all they need to do is practice and they get better.”

When you look at the running game right now, the yards per carry are low. Are defenses just loading the box?

“No, it’s actually more the opposite, more two-shell defenses and stuff. The blitzes were considered loading the box, but they’re doing it with more two-shell stuff. But we haven’t got a big one. I think it’s harder to get big ones versus two shell. I think versus the Saints, we had the longest carry on them versus a two-shell defense in a year and one game. I think it was 13 yards. But, there are a couple plays that we’ve been one guy off on that I thought we could’ve got a big one on, especially versus some eight-man fronts. But it takes 11 guys to do it. You can’t get a big one when one guy’s off. But I’m not too concerned with the run game, but I’d like to get more production.”

Since you’ve been here Arizona’s been a pretty tough game for the 49ers. I think you’re seven and nine or something against them under four different coaches for them. Is there a common denominator which would make them fairly tough for the 49ers?

“When you change coaches it’s always different with scheme and stuff, but they always present a problem schematically. Since [Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan] Gannon has been there these last few years, they present a lot of problems. I think anytime you’ve got a quarterback like [Arizona Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray], regardless of how the game’s going or how good you’re doing schematically, you never know when he can unlock something and get an off-schedule. But they’ve been a tough team. Most of our division opponents are, I mean we battle with all those guys. Nothing in particular, but I think they’ve had good coaches and good players.”

S Ji’Ayir Brown, I assume he’s disappointed that he’s not starting. What do you make of how he’s handled things and what he did with his opportunity on Sunday?

“Tig’s handled things great. He’s been the same guy, played the same way. I think he’s done a good job on teams, getting more reps there, and thought he did a good job with his big nickel role last week. He’s done a good job in practice, which kind of earned him that role and been really happy with Tig.”

How is WR Brandon Aiyuk progressing? I know that you said he could return around Weeks 5, 6 or 7.

“Yeah, he’s progressing. Yep.”

How much would you say LB Dee Winters has improved from last year?

“I think a lot. I think Dee Winters is a guy we wanted to get in there early. He ended up getting a high ankle sprain last year and kept zinging it. But, once he kind of got in there and started going consistently and staying healthy, you could see it towards the end of the year, just like what I was saying with Ricky a little bit ago. Then just this entire offseason, getting all the reps in OTAs, all the reps in training camp, staying healthy so he didn’t have any setbacks. Dee’s made of the right stuff and he just gets better the more he is out there.”

Is there a mindset that a player like him goes through when last year he knew that Denver Broncos LB Dre Greenlaw was always back there and whenever Dre was healthy he was going to be the guy. But this year it’s clearly his job. Is there something about that?

“I think there is. I think guys always like that role more, but I’ve seen it go both ways. Sometimes you think it’s your job and people lose their edge a little bit and it makes them worse. Sometimes people are so worried about how good the guy is behind him or ahead of him that they’re so on their stuff every second it makes them better. So, I don’t know if that had an effect on Dee, you’d have to ask him. But we’ve been a fan of Dee for a while. Greenlaw was ahead of him. Dre was going to move into that early last year, but the injury set him back and now he’s gotten his opportunity and he’s run with it.”

Christian had a 20-yard comeback catch on third-and-long. Where does he rank as far as route running is with the backs you’ve seen and coached?

“The best.”

Far away the best?

“Yes. Yep, definitely.”

LB Fred Warner was named Defensive Player of the Week for NFC. Before his ankle injury last year, it looked like he was having an incredible season. Do you feel like he’s back at that stage now?

“Yeah, I do. I think Fred kind of always plays at that level. I know he was playing through some stuff last year, and I think it was more how we were playing around him also, or just as much as that. But Fred, I mean well deserved with what he did last week. I feel like he can almost get that every week. But, Fred’s having a hell of a year so far. I can’t think of a year he hasn’t though.”

How much did DL Mykel Williams and DL Alfred Collins improve from game one to game two?

“I think a lot. You know, they did some good things in game one, but we saw even better in game two. Alfred got out there more, flashed a bunch. I see both of those guys just working the right way, made of the right stuff. Alfred’s been stringing together a lot of stuff, he’s been able to avoid injury. Mykel’s getting back and getting used to it and I thought it was a big improvement in Week 2.”

TE Jake Tonges had a nice pancake block on TE Luke Farrell’s touchdown. I assume he’s still a work-in-progress as a blocker, but how much has he improved since you got him?

“Oh, a lot. He came in as more of a pass game guy, and if you’re a tight end and you’re just a pass game guy you can call yourself a tight end, but you’re really just another receiver. So, you’ve got to be able to block. He’s shown us that. He’s been able to do it from the I at a fullback position and he has been able to do it on the line of scrimmage. So, he keeps improving at that all the time.”

Along those lines, TE George Kittle is out, now Juice might miss this week. How much stress does that put on you to find ways to use these tight ends? How much stress does it put on the tight ends?

“It puts a lot on those guys. Anytime you’re missing two good players like that, I think it’s a little easier for those guys when we can prepare for it more. It’s a little harder in the game. You want to prepare for everything, but sometimes you prepare for everything and it makes them not good at anything. So, when that happens in the game early, that’s kind of took us a while to adjust to it, but I thought they did a hell of a job on Sunday and them going through that makes them even more prepared for that situation this week.”

S Marques Sigle was named a starter pretty quickly. What is it about his mental approach to the game and what he’s like just off the field that made you give him that opportunity?

“We loved his ability with his speed and the way he hits and everything. But, just watching him early, he missed OTAs so we weren’t totally sure, we thought he had a chance just watching him in his college film. But, even when he was out in OTAs, just how attentive he was in meetings, the way he’d ask questions, once he got his opportunity in training camp it seemed like he had been working throughout OTAs. I think he’s a guy who gives it his all off the field in terms of preparation, conditioning, all that stuff in the weight room, but mainly the mental approach. And so, when he has gone in there and been prepared mentally, he’s got the speed and he’s got the courage to hit and his body’s built that way that can make him a pretty good player.”

Did OL Connor Colby’s performance surprise you at all?

“Not really.”

Are you surprised that it seemed like there was a point at Iowa where the footwork was kind of suspect on pass protection and stuff to where he gives up no pressures in a full NFL game?

“I think pass pro has kind of been his strength we’ve noticed since he’s been here. He has been a tough guy to get around. We could see it in one-on-ones early in camp. I think his adjustment has been a little bit more of the run game just a little bit more our style. I think it was in that game too versus New Orleans. But no, that’s why he made our team. He beat out some good players, some guys who have been in this League before. So, I think in order to do that we’ve got to feel pretty high on him.”

Where does DL Bryce Huff’s sack rank as far as the fastest sacks you’ve ever seen?

“I don’t really know that stuff, but since I don’t have like an automatic miles per hour GPS in my head, it looked fast. A lot of them look fast. I’ve seen [former NFL DL] Dwight Freeney used to like to be the fastest I’ve ever seen. Those were like my first few years as a coordinator. But, I was told by analytics that was the fastest at 2.2, so I guess that was the fastest. I don’t know if Freeney had a GPS on him though back then.”