SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Coach Kyle Shanahan walked onto the practice field and stood next to general manager John Lynch, watching his practice for about 30 minutes.
Shanahan’s presence that has been a constant the past decade was a welcome sight on Sunday for the first training camp practice, coming less than two weeks after he got into that left him with a concussion and other injuries.
鈥淚 know he can鈥檛 stay away,鈥� star linebacker Fred Warner said. 鈥淚 know he鈥檚 given up his duties for a little bit, but that guy鈥檚 obsessed with ball. I鈥檓 sure of course he鈥檚 going to be around.鈥�
While Shanahan made a cameo appearance at practice on Sunday, the Niners began preparations for the 2026 season without their leader in charge. Shanahan has ceded responsibility over the team to assistant head coach/offensive line coach Chris Foerster temporarily as he recovers from the crash he got into on July 14 in nearby Palo Alto.
Shanahan suffered a concussion, broken ribs, a broken nose and broken hand in the crash and won’t be back running the team until the concussion symptoms subside. Shanahan had a cast on his left hand, sunglasses to cover up his black eye and a new mustache that prompted Warner to complement him on his 鈥渄isguise鈥� as he watched practice.
Shanahan interacted with a few players, including Warner, Kyle Juszczyk, Christian McCaffrey and Dre Greenlaw before leaving the field.
鈥淚 knew it would be tough to keep him away from there,鈥� star tackle Trent Williams said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hard for him to get his rest. He鈥檚 not that type of person. It doesn鈥檛 surprise me at all to see him out there.鈥�
With a veteran-laden team and several coaches who have been with the organization for years, Foerster and Williams said it’s almost as if the team is on 鈥渁uto pilot鈥� and not thrown off by Shanahan’s absence.
The training camp practice plan was put in place long before Shanahan’s crash with the opening stretch of camp essentially a repeat of the installations from the offseason program.
Foerster said he is leaning heavily on his assistants, especially coordinators Klay Kubiak, Raheem Morris and Brant Boyer. He said not much has changed other than he had to break the team after practice, he did a news conference and he got to make the call on small parts of practice such as whether to repeat or skip a play following a pre-snap penalty.
Foerster has been in the NFL for more than three decades, starting as an assistant offensive line and tight ends coach in Minnesota in 1993 and had little problem taking command of the entire team.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been doing this longer than everybody in that locker room been alive, probably except for me,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a hand-in-glove fit. Me personally, I鈥檓 so proud of him just watching him even just be a head coach for a day, or no matter how long it is. We go so far back, he鈥檚 family to me. Just seeing him in that position, I鈥檓 just really proud.鈥�
Foerster spent four seasons with Washington when Shanahan was offensive coordinator and Mike Shanahan was head coach and joined the 49ers in 2019. Foerster had resigned as offensive line coach in Miami in 2017 after a video on social media appeared to show him snorting three lines of white powder at a desk, but got a second chance with Shanahan.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of my best friends in the world by far,鈥� Foerster said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not many people that I call a friend for a lot of reasons, and Kyle鈥檚 one of them. He and his wife, Mandy, are like family to me. This organization did some things for me and pulled me in at a time in my life when nobody would really want to be with me. And Kyle, along with John and the whole York family have stood by me and that loyalty鈥檚 never going to be forgotten. He鈥檚 a close, close friend, and it scares the crap out of you when something like this happens to somebody so close.鈥�
Bosa takes field for individual drills
Star defensive end Nick Bosa was on the field to start camp as he makes his return from a torn ACL suffered in Week 3 last season. Bosa only took part in individual drills and was working on his own on the side during team drills.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 even tell that he had an injury or he came back from anything,” Williams said. 鈥淢ost people with a knee injury that catastrophic, you come back, you can see something. You can see it in the atrophy in the muscle and the leg. You can see something. Bosa looks better than he did before he got hurt.鈥�
小萝莉影视 and notes
OL Vederian Lowe left practice early with an ankle injury. … CB Nate Hobbs was the only active player not taking part in practice. … The Niners signed DT Kevin Givens a day after releasing Evan Anderson. Givens has played 70 games for San Francisco from 2019-25. … Foerster said Connor Colby will get the first shot to win the starting left guard spot after starting six games as a seventh-round rookie last season.
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