Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – September 8, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Listen to Audio I Media Center

 

Opening comments:

“All right guys. Injuries from the game. [OL] Ben Bartch had a mild knee sprain. He will be day to day. [WR] Jauan Jennings with his shoulder, we’re still evaluating and waiting for the information to come back. [TE] George Kittle did have a hamstring. He is going to be out a few weeks. [QB] Brock Purdy hurt his left shoulder and toe. We’ll see how this week goes for him. And that’s it from the game.”

 

Is one of those two Purdy injuries more severe than the other? Is he at risk of missing a start or two?

“I’d probably say the toe’s worse than the shoulder.”

 

What about his availability this week?

“Yeah, we’re not sure. We’ve got to see how it heals and how the week goes on it.”

 

Is there any indication on how severe Jauan Jennings’ shoulder injury could be?

“No. The MRI was good. We’re just waiting for a CT.”

 

With Brock’s toe, is that a turf toe injury?

“Just toe. That’s all I’ve got here.”

 

Have you guys made any decision as far as how you plan to proceed at the place kicker position?

“We’re looking into all that stuff now. I mean, there are options, just whether it’s stay the status quo, we can bring in guys for a workout or practice squad, but we’re going through all that stuff right now. I’ve just finished with the team and I know the personnel department’s going to look into all that stuff and give us those options.”

 

As far of the re-signing or bringing back of WR Kendrick Bourne, can you give the reasoning or what you believe that Kendrick can bring to the team? You obviously know him very well.

“We love K.B. from his time here, and he did a hell of a job while he was in New England. So, when he got let go, we tried to bring him in here a couple weeks ago and weren’t able to quite get it done. Then Washington didn’t either and it ended up working out with us in the long run. So, we got him here today. First time I’ve seen him back in the building was at a team meeting a little bit ago and we’re pumped to have him back here. We’ll see how he does when he gets on the practice field Wednesday.”

 

For the Brock Purdy shoulder injury, is that his left shoulder, non-throwing? Did that occur on a play in the first half where he was driven pretty hard into the turf? Is that the origin of it?

“Yeah, that was it. He threw it, I think it was when he just overthrew [WR] Ricky [Pearsall] a little bit to the left and went to the ground on it.”

 

What about some of the other guys? Did T Trent Williams make it through the game okay? And how did RB Christian McCaffrey come out of that game?

“Yeah, I got no reports on either of them today, so I’m sure they have normal soreness from a physical football game. But their injures, there were no reports on them, so that means they’re good.”

 

Is that a conversation you have with K Jake Moody about bringing in guys to try out at kicker and maybe bringing someone on the practice squad?

“No, I haven’t had it with him yet because I’m not sure which direction we’re going to go. But whenever we decide on something, then we will address it with him.”

 

Christian was on the field for 58 snaps out of 76, which is a lot for an offense. Was that about kind of where you’d like it to be rep-wise?

“I don’t really look at, I don’t put a number on it, never have. I’d be surprised if I ever do. Kind of how it plays out. I think that’s around it, give or take a few either way. But he’s a hard guy to get off the field. We did it throughout the game, but sometimes we’ll do it more, sometimes we’ll do it less.”

 

Are you going to have to put George Kittle on Injured Reserve and call up TE Brayden Willis? What’s the plan there?

“When they tell me a few weeks, it’s always a possibility. In order to do that it’s got to be a four-week injury, so I don’t think we’ve decided on that yet.”

 

Looking at so many young rookies on the defense, how did you think their performances were? I know CB Upton Stout had a challenging day, but other than that, how did you feel they went?

“I thought they did good. I mean, definitely think they can improve, but I think they’re all about on the same level. Even to throw Upton against all the other guys, Upton was at the point of contact a lot more, just being a nickel, and how much they target their slot receiver. So, I think you could see that a lot. And I thought he did a good job. I mean, there were a couple that he missed, but I thought Upton played well. I was pretty happy with all the other rookies too. Definitely a lot of stuff we can coach him on and get better from. But I thought it was a good first game for him.”

 

What’d you see from DL Mykel Williams in particular? He didn’t seem to register a lot of stats, but it seemed like he was a big part of the run defense.

“I thought he was. I think we mixed in a bunch of five-man lines and four-man lines, which I thought he did a good job on moving around a number of times. And I thought he played his man well. I didn’t see him on the stat sheet a ton, but I thought he did good in his job and what we asked him to do. Hopefully he’ll continue to get better.”

 

How did you think S Marques Sigle performed?

“I was real happy with him. He flew around, made a lot of plays, had that one missed tackle, but I thought his one missed tackle was good. He didn’t break down at all, shot his guns, made the back come to a complete stop, had that fumble recovery and played very fast in the game. He didn’t hesitate and that’s where it starts.”

 

I know you’re happy with the way you guys responded to adversity and everything, but when you look at the stats, do you come away at all thinking that we should have won by more than that?

“You always think that, not always, but I think we punted a couple times in the game. When you have four drives in a row, I think there was one missed field goal, two picks and a block field goal. That’s four drives where you’re not getting points. You do that four times in a row, I’m worried that it’s going to go completely the other way. So, for us to be able to hold them, play good complementary football there, I think on our four sudden changes, I want to say we only gave up points on one of them if that’s correct which allowed us to stay in it and overcome those things. And then I love how we controlled the ball in the second half, how we got the run game going and really leaned on them which I really think kind of took their run game out of the game and allowed us to kind of control momentum and take it back over towards the end.”

 

When you went through the TE Jake Tonges touchdown catch, what kind of stood out to you as you were viewing that?

“That no one was open, and I didn’t think Jake was, but for some reason Brock did. And when he threw it, at the end of it, he proved to us that Jake was open because he made a hell of a play stepping in front of [Seattle Seahawks CB] Riq [Woolen] like that. It was a big-time catch. Earlier in that drive he had his first NFL catch and it was followed the next play by his second. I want to say it was three plays later by the game winner. So, I think Brock just ended up getting confidence in him very quickly as the drive went.”

 

Jake’s been around for a while now. What is it about him that has prompted you guys or inspired you guys to keep him around? What do you like about his game?

“Well, the biggest thing that stands out is his hands. He’s got really good hands, which you could see on that last play. He’s got athletic ability. Then when you tie athletic ability with someone’s hands and size, he’s got the tools to be good in the pass game, but he had to come a long way in the run game to be able to make the team and be out there. He has come a long way in the run game, and he continues to improve in the pass game too. So, I know yesterday was his first day kind of sticking out to anyone and hopefully he’ll continue to get better from that and put together a good career here.”

 

You guys got the deal done with OL Colton McKivitz. How meaningful was that for you? How nice is it for you, I don’t think he’s missed a game since he became full-time starter, with all the kind of moving pieces you’ve dealt with the last couple years to have a guy dependable like that?

“Colton’s been one of the most reliable guys on our team, really since he got in when [Denver Broncos OL Mike] McGlinchey left. Colton to me is such a good story. He was a fifth-round pick. We cut him once, put him on practice squad. He ended up coming back and playing for us. I still remember a Week 17 game versus the Rams when it wasn’t until before the game that we realized Trent couldn’t go, and Colton went in there and played unbelievable, gave us a chance to go to the playoffs. It was the next year that he really took over that starting position at right tackle. He’s been our guy there ever since. So, just the consistency he’s played with, the fact that I believe he gets better each year also and really that I think Colton’s one of the true leaders on our team and truly a 49er. I’m really pumped that we found a way to keep him here.”

 

If QB Mac Jones does have to start this week, just kind of what’s his state of readiness based on what you saw in camp leading into this?

“I think Mac had a really good camp, going back all the way to OTAs and training camp. I think he’s gotten really used to what we do. Had a little setback there the last couple weeks of camp with the injury that he got, but he had a good week of practice last week picking up really right where he left off. If he has to go this week he’ll lead the guys, the guys will believe in him and I know he’ll do his job at a high level.”

 

What about the number three quarterback position, QB Adrian Martinez? I don’t think that he’s attempted an NFL pass. Would you need to bring somebody in who’s more experienced if Brock can’t go?

“It’s a possibility. I think it has to do with really how Brock is probably over these next 24 hours throughout the week. But that stuff we’ll look into. We’ve been happy to get Adrian here. I heard good things about him from the Jets and really enjoyed him last week in our first week of practice together just watching him a little bit and getting to know him some. But, all that stuff will be fluid probably throughout the week and in the next 24 hours.”

 

With George going out, are you comfortable with Brayden Willis being bumped up?
“Oh, yeah. Brayden was bumped up a ton last year and was on our roster a ton last year. So, Bradyen’s played in a lot of games for us and we wouldn’t hesitate to bring Brayden out there.”

 

Does Jauan have a chance to play Sunday?

“Yeah.”