After canceling joint practices this week due to multiple injuries, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan plans to use several of his starters, including quarterback Brock Purdy, in an exhibition game against the New Orleans Saints.
Shanahan usually gives his starters a lot of practice time in joint sessions and sometimes holds them out of the game that week, but he said he will play many of his top players on Sunday to let them compete against a different team.
“It’s always nice when you get to go up against a different look, different guys and stuff,” Purdy said Friday. “So we missed that this week. But at the same time, we’re doing it for the right reasons.
So I’m excited for Sunday to be able to get some new looks and being able to run our offense against guys that haven’t seen it every day. So that’s also going to be nice, but get in, be efficient, be clean with it, and compete.”
Not all starters will play. Some are dealing with injuries, others have contract disputes, and some might be kept out to avoid any risk of injury.
San Francisco lost another starter this week when left guard Aaron Banks broke his pinky. Banks had surgery on Friday, but the Niners hope he will be ready for the season opener on September 9 against the New York Jets.
Shanahan did not provide a clear update on the status of stars Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams, who have not practiced all summer while negotiating new contracts.
Williams has been holding out of camp and facing $50,000 daily fines, while Aiyuk showed up and is attending meetings but has not practiced.
Aiyuk did some sprints on the side early in practice on Friday and then watched team drills for the third straight day, but he is still looking for a resolution that might lead to a new contract with the 49ers or a possible trade to Pittsburgh.
Shanahan said the team hasn’t threatened Aiyuk with fines for not practicing, explaining that Aiyuk has reported an injury that is keeping him out.
“I’m just saying when you guys call it a hold-in, and I’m not disagreeing with you guys on that, but people say that they’re hurt,” Shanahan said. “I think B.A. has a sore back right now and it is what it is.”
Shanahan mentioned he hasn’t pushed the front office to meet Aiyuk’s demands to get him back on the field. He said the contract situation is just one part of building a competitive team for the long term.
“If I only understood 40% of the business, I think that would be extremely hard for me,” he said about not pressuring the front office. “But I don’t think you can be like that as a head coach. You have to know the big picture and it all ties together.
So, hell yeah, you want every player in camp and you want every player healthy and you want to be working at everything every single day. But that’s not the reality of our league. That’s not the reality of our situation.”
Shanahan is unsure how Aiyuk’s situation will turn out but remains hopeful that a contract deal will be worked out with Williams, who has been an All-Pro left tackle for the past three seasons.
“I think we have to work out a contract thing and I think Trent, I haven’t spoken to him, but I think we’ll be able to work that out,” he said.
