SANTA CLARA, California – San Francisco’s 49ers discovered they had NFL nomads for at least the next 3 weeks, just as the rest of the world did saturday afternoon: through a press conference.
The team on their plane was on their way to Los Angeles to play the Rams when word spread that Santa Clara County announced new COVID-19 restrictions banning all tactile sports for 3 weeks on county boundaries.
The news temporarily spread on social media and soon Niners coach Kyle Shanahan was inundated with players, coaches and members of the circle of relatives wondering what that meant. He didn’t like the lack of knowledge of the county.
“So we can get out of here and the dates we have with them and have our players and coaches and everyone on this plane and our wives stand while we get on a plane and no one to tell us. It was incredibly disappointing. ” Shanahan said, “I understand: they made this decision, and we have to deal with it, even if we don’t know through a tweet or a press conference, where I have a total plane coming towards me, I have all the women, everyone. girlfriends, circle of relatives, members of all, children, saying they found out we could be out all december, will they quarantine us for 14 days when we get back?
“That’s all we’ve been able to communicate in the last 18 hours because we haven’t had any reaction from them. Just very disappointed. “
This curveball has left the 49ers spending most of their time in Los Angeles thinking and talking about where they’ll be for the most of the holiday season.
Despite the apparent distraction, the Niners controlled Sunday’s game against Los Angeles. The fact that they controlled for a 23-20 victory over the Rams in the image of the NFC playoffs left Shanahan radiant with pride.
“I really appreciate our players, and I’m very proud to coach those guys,” Shanahan said after the game.
Now, when the Niners turn their attention to their next game, scheduled for December 7 in opposition to the Buffalo Bills in Monday Night Football, they will need to know where they will exercise and then where the game will be played.
A league source told ESPN saturday night that the team and the NFL had been working on possible contingencies since the preseason, when it was unclear whether the Niners would have the county’s blessing to start educational camp at Levi’s Stadium.
Two of the features discussed at the time, Texas and Arizona, remain smart candidates to host the Niners’ home games, as neither the Cowboys nor the Cardinals have any time conflict with the remaining 49ers games. maximum destination probably before the season, however, the 49ers are still taking advantage of both California’s internal and external opportunities.
Beyond that, the Niners will have to go where they can exercise. They can create some kind of bubble near where they finish playing, but their preference remains to exercise in the Bay Area and fly to their remaining games.
“Everyone is so committed to this, so the most vital thing for me is that we leave our families,” Shanahan said. “We are all human, like everyone else, and it is a great challenge to leave your circle of relatives. “for the whole month of December – a massive one, as everyone knows . . . We want to place a position where we can feel and stay because we will no longer be able to move from home to those who are Array So we are passing by to have to stay in a hotel or somewhere. So that’s where I’d start. Secondly, we want an educational floor to play, and then obviously we want a stadium to play. I’m not going through being so picky, but we want apparent things. “
Because the Niners’ next game will be Monday, it gives them a little more time to complicate their plans. Shanahan said the team needed 3 smart days of training, but since they don’t play a Sunday game, box preparation doesn’t start until Thursday However, answers will be needed in the coming days or two for logistical reasons.
Starting with this year’s update, the 49ers know it’s more productive to prepare for anything.
“At the moment we don’t have a home, ” said runner Raheem Mostert. “We don’t know where we’re going to be, and it depends on the organization and the county and things like that to solve those things. As players, we have to do our homework to make sure everyone else. Array “
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