San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan met with reporters on Wednesday as the team came off its bye and turned toward Sunday’s home game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The biggest roster news of the break was the return of defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, and Shanahan did not soft-pedal how he felt about it. “It was awesome to add Buckner, really awesome,” he said. “And it’d be great to add someone else if that works out, but we’re not counting on it, but it’d still be great. We’ve still got time.”
The 49ers are 6-1. Kickoff against the Raiders at Levi’s Stadium is Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, which is 11:25 p.m. in Cairo. The trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. ET.
“Buck’s back”
Asked whether adding Buckner changes the mood in the building, Shanahan said the first reaction looked like the fan reaction. “Everyone gets excited when you add a player,” he said. “When we’re on break, I get tons of texts from guys on the team just, ‘Man, Buck’s back, that’s awesome.’” The lasting part, he said, is what shows up once the new player is in the room: “It’s how good the players are, adding someone like Buck, and what it adds to the field and the meetings and everything like that, then that’s where the momentum becomes real.”
A year ago he had rejected the idea that San Francisco was one player away. He stuck with that framing while still saying this group is ahead of last year’s. “I never really think you’re one player away, but I definitely think … our team’s better than it was last year,” he said.
On how Buckner fits next to the other interior pieces, including a classic three-technique role, Shanahan said modern fronts force interchangeability. “You start in a spot, but you have to be interchangeable,” he said. “I see it as you’ve got two inside guys.”
Aiyuk: “I have no expectation”
Shanahan was asked about Brandon Aiyuk after reports that the receiver’s camp was moving toward reporting to the facility. “I believe they talked to his agent,” he said. Asked what he expects and how he responds, he was blunt: “None. I have no expectation. Kind of moved on with that mentally and everything. Doing kind of how I talked to you guys two months ago. Nothing’s really changed for me.”
Would a resolution come before Aiyuk showed up? “I wouldn’t think so. I think he’d have to show up for stuff to happen,” Shanahan said. Pressed on whether there is any chance Aiyuk plays for the 49ers again, he left only a general door open: “There’s no absolutes in life.” Asked whether he worries about facing Aiyuk elsewhere this season if San Francisco moves on, he said, “No.”
McCaffrey, Deebo, Bosa and Evans
Shanahan’s injury list for Wednesday practice started with the skill players. Christian McCaffrey (hamstring), Deebo Samuel (hamstring), Mike Evans (Achilles) and Siran Neal (knee-foot) did not practice. Nick Bosa (calf), Demarcus Robinson (ankle) and Nate Hobbs (adductor) were among those listed limited, and Shanahan confirmed the team had opened the practice windows for Hobbs and Robinson.
On McCaffrey after the bye, he said: “I think he had a good week. His wasn’t as bad as Deebo’s. I mean, he’s not going today, but hopefully he can have a chance to be limited tomorrow.” On Samuel: “He’s making progress. He can’t go today, so I’d be surprised if he can go this week, but he’s making good progress.” On Bosa’s calf: “Yeah, he’s made progress. That’s why he’s going to be limited today.”
Evans, he said, is “going in the right direction,” with the staff choosing patience over pushing the Achilles: “We just want to wait until he’s healthy and he’s still working his way to get there.” Defensive lineman C.J. West will be held another week.
Still looking at receiver — carefully
Shanahan said the personnel staff looks for adds every week and that receiver remains one of the positions under review after the Jauan Jennings talks did not produce a deal. “Receivers is something we still are looking into and so is every other position,” he said. Fitting a new wideout into this offense on short notice is hard. “It’s really hard at receiver,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the hardest, but it’s up there … there’s got to be the right guy.”
Looking at the post-bye stretch historically, he credited rest more than astrology, even after a Sagittarius joke. “Usually after bye weeks you get a little bit of a boost,” he said. “I think we’ve had a good team majority of the years and bye weeks always help.”
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