Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – October 5, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Injuries from the game. [FB Kyle Juszczyk] Juice had a knee hyperextension with bone bruise. He’ll miss a few weeks. [S] Marques Sigle had a high ankle sprain. He’ll miss some time. [DB] Upton Stout with a shoulder AC sprain. He’ll be day-to-day. We’ll have to manage him through the week to see if we can get him to Sunday. That’s it from the game.”

Any update on DL Nick Bosa and DL Mykel Williams?

“Nick Bosa and [DL] James Thompson [Jr.], both of them, probably not expecting to get them back this week. Mykel, hopefully practice keeps going well, has a good week of practice and hopefully we can get him activated at the end of the week. But, it depends how the week goes.”

Will you have him in team drills this week?

“Yes. Yeah, he was able to do some last week.”

With Kyle Juszczyk being out for a little while, what is your plan for someone to step in? Would TE Brayden Willis take over that role a little bit like we saw yesterday?

“Yeah, [TE] Luke [Farrell] and Brayden and [TE George] Kittle. They’re all pretty interchangeable, but it’ll definitely get Brayden some more ops. [TE Jake] Tonges would do that for us last year, the last couple of years, and lost him Week One and Brayden’s been ready for this role.”

What jumped out on film with how you guys played last night?

“I just thought a little bit of what I was saying last night. I think the whole team just bought into the type of game that we thought it was going to be. We thought it was going to be a real physical game that we really wanted to control the ball and run the ball well on offense. We really thought the defense and teams would have to play a certain way to allow us to do that, and they did a ton. Especially us not converting those short yardages in the first half. Would have been easy to get away from it if those guys weren’t playing like that, but they were playing so hard and playing so physical and not giving up big plays and keeping the score low allowed us to keep playing that style until it eventually broke them, we felt, and gave us some big plays there in the fourth quarter.”

You’ve played the last three games at home after Australia. Now that you’re going back on the road, did those three games benefit you the most you could just getting reacclimated with your body clocks or was that done after the first one or two games?

“I thought it was kind of silly to act like three home games in a row is any benefit. We were acclimated after getting five days to rest, getting back Friday and then not practicing again until Wednesday. So I thought Australia was over by that Wednesday. It’s always nice to get three home games, but this means you’re going to be on the road for three in December. I was definitely happy we had one after that, but I feel like we’ve been over Australia since the first Wednesday back, and I’m glad that we took care of business and won these three games at home. I thought that was huge and hopefully that helps us later in the year.”

We talked about LB Dre Greenlaw yesterday and how emotional of a game the Denver Broncos would have been for him, but from a team perspective going into Lumen Field this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks, how emotional do you think this game may be for the 49ers given just obviously the relationship between the two teams but also how last season went?

“No more than usual. I think it’s been that way playing the Seahawks since I’ve gotten here. They’re a huge in-division rival. They’re always tough games. They’ve been that way for years and been that way before we got here too. It’s always big versus them and nothing out of the ordinary in that way.”

DB Siran Neal said that he saved the kickoff return from Seattle on his phone last year and watched it back. Is that something that you plan on doing this week to show them some of the stuff that happened in that game or it’s a fresh page for you?

“I think it’s more of a fresh page. I haven’t thought about how I’m going to do that yet when we get to the week, but I’m glad Siran uses that as motivation. I’m sure a number of our players do, but I see two totally different teams. I’ll get to Seattle after this, but I know we’re a much different team now and I don’t like to correlate many things to the previous year.”

You’ve had a chance to see DL Sebastian Valdez for a couple weeks now. What have been your impressions of him over the last couple games, particularly in the run game?

“I thought he’s done a real good job. He stepped it up when we needed him to. He’s been waiting for this opportunity for two years now. We were pretty confident that he would take advantage of it when he got it and he hasn’t disappointed. He’s really taken advantage of it. Played really hard, played very well, and I’ve been really excited what he’s done here in these two weeks when it’s been real needed.”

Is CB Ephesians Prysock a candidate to be activated this week if Stout was unable to go?

“Yeah, definitely. We’ve got to see how it all pans out, but if we have one of those guys down, it’ll be the next guy up.”

What about CB Nate Hobbs as far as nickel cornerback if Stout wouldn’t be able to go?

“He can be an option too. Got to see exactly where his rehab’s at. I know he’s getting close, but that would be an option also.”

I know you said it might be another week before WR Christian Kirk returns to practice. Is there any chance for this week for him to get back to practice or is that still the plan?

“No, I was not told that we’d have him this week, so hopefully next week.”

How’d WR Mike Evans come out of yesterday? How did he perform?

“I thought similar to what I said last night. I thought Mike and his five catches was huge. Just him being able to get through that game, I was extremely impressed. I’ve seen a lot of guys try to do that with a rib and very rarely do they last the whole game. He lasted the whole game and played very well despite the ribs injury. So, I haven’t seen him yet today. I just talked to the trainers and I’m sure he’s still in a lot of pain, you usually are the next day after something like that. But as far as I’ve been told, no setbacks and hopefully it’ll be a little bit better for him next week.”

With Marques Sigle being out for a little while, how has S Malik Mustapha been playing? Has he made some improvements since the first week?

“Yeah, definitely. Malik just had some unfortunate injuries during training camp, so he got a late start, but got his first practice out there in Australia and I think he’s been awesome this whole month. That’s why we’ve been mixing him in there more regardless, even with all those guys healthy. We started mixing him in last week trying to get him some series and stuff. Every time he’s come in, I think he’s played at a high level. I thought he did that yesterday and made one of the biggest plays in the game yesterday on that third-and-five when he broke that pass up. I’m real excited with Malik and how he’s looked.”

What’s your evaluation of just the step forward that Sigle has taken this year before this injury?

“I agree. I think he’s been playing his ass off in the run and pass game. The way he’s filled on some of these tackles, just how solid he’s hit people and how quickly he’s done it getting up in there. I thought he’s done it good in the pass game too. He did a lot of good stuff last year, but I think he has taken it to another level, just playing a little bit faster, hesitating less, knowing what he’s doing and really playing well before that injury.”

What’s your overall assessment of the defensive line? DL Matthew Judon had a few snaps. Where is he at and also your defensive line?

“I was just really proud of how they’ve played these last two weeks. This is the first time that being in a situation where there’s only four guys left out of the 10 guys you started with two weeks prior to that. So, to have that many new guys, practice squad guys, all those guys getting out there and stepping it up and holding that team in the run game like they did, not giving up the explosives, chasing around a real mobile quarterback. I’ve been real happy with them these two weeks.”

How did DL Romello Height look playing with the cast and the club on his hand?

“I thought he did a good job. I thought he got close to number of plays. I thought he moved around out there well. It seemed like he got a little more comfortable as the game went. I thought it was a good first game back with that club and expect him to take another step forward next week.”

Was that your plan to not have WR Brandin Cooks do too much in his first game out with you guys and what is the plan for him going forward?

“Just the same. We were having him backup [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] in that game. We don’t keep Deebo out there too long. We didn’t go on as many long drives as I think we had the prior week so I think that made it a little bit harder. I’m not sure how many plays he ended up with, but the game kind of went how we thought it would go.”

You guys are averaging the fewest penalties per game in the league. What does that kind of say about your team or is that reading too much into early season stats?

“I think a little bit of both. I feel like we’ve done a good job staying disciplined and stuff. I thought yesterday there were a number of times where we got a little bit too close to it where I thought someone was going to get a penalty. I thought we did a real good job avoiding it, especially in the second half. Just some things that we talked about at halftime that we better watch out because it was going to come. I think we have been playing pretty clean football, but I also just think that’s how it’s gone. It’s a little different crew each week and I think they’ve let us play a lot here with the crews we’ve gotten.”