Kyle Shanahan’s cameo at 49ers practice draws players’ reactions

SANTA CLARA – Kyle Shanahan stood next to John Lynch deep in the defensive backfield, which is not an odd sight at 49ers practice.

Sunday was different, though. Shanahan’s 10th training camp as the 49ers’ coach began with him strictly a distant bystander during a 45-minute cameo.

As he recovers from a July 14 car collision, his head-coaching duties are spread among his staff, starting with Chris Foerster as the temporary frontman while still the offensive line’s coach.

“I knew it would be tough to keep him away from there,” left tackle Trent Williams said of seeing Shanahan on the field. “It’s going to be hard for him to get his rest. He’s not that type of person. It doesn’t surprise me at all to seem out there.”

Shanahan emerged once team drills began and, per usual protocol, media cameras were shut off.

Because of a concussion, Shanahan shaded himself from the South Bay sun with a black cap and sunglasses, complemented by a thick mustache that resembled Tom Selleck. “I told him he had a great ‘stache with the sunglasses on,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “But no, he looks good. It’s good to see him out there. He seems to be in great spirits.”

Because of a broken left hand, the 10th-year coach sported a small cast near his wrist, while his right hand held a practice script, and the rest of his slim frame looked healthy in his typical shorts and T-shirt.

Because of his beloved status among veterans, he was greeted first by fullback Kyle Juszczyk then Warner between drills. Warner said he learned about the car crash a day afterward from Shanahan’s wife, Mandy, adding: “Luckily everyone seems to be on the up-and-up and doing well. I’m sure Kyle is itching to get back. There’s no rush. It’s business as usual.”

Williams said he only learned of Shanahan’s incident through Saturday’s social-media blasts, adding: “Seeing how jacked up he was, I don’t blame him for not picking up the phone and sending out a mass alert, ‘I’ve been in a wreck.’ ”

Foerster handled Shanahan’s duties in terms of breaking down the post-practice huddle and then debriefing the media, though that later assignment will fall on coordinators Klay Kubiak (offense) and Raheem Morris (defense) after the next two practices.

Foerster, who’s worked under both Kyle and his father Mike Shanahan since 2010 in Washington, said he didn’t learn about his expanded role until the 49ers announced it Saturday morning in conjunction with the public revelation about Shanahan’s two-car collision, which occurred at a Palo Alto intersection with neither driver cited nor suspected of being under drugs or alcohol.

“I knew we’d all have to pick up the slack. You just don’t know how every day, the thing can flip, and he can do more and more,” Foerster, 64, said. “We always knew it would be a group effort. We talked for days before, ‘What if he couldn’t do it?’ Klay, Raheem, we were all talking how we could fill in the blanks if needed.”

Foerster expressed gratitude at the beefier role and with Shanahan’s advice to, well, do as he pleases or simply delegate. That is, until Shanahan returns to full health, which should be sooner than later, and definitely before the Sept. 11 season opener.

Added Foerster: “Everybody’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, ‘Hey, head coach, how are you doing?’ No, I’m the O-line coach, and I’m helping the rest of the guys.”

Instead of Shanahan relaying play calls to the quarterback, Kubiak did so with a walkie-talkie, while Morris oversaw the defense as their new coordinator and while other position coaches went along with business as usual.

On one play, Shanahan’s eyes locked on wide receiver Ricky Pearsall along the left sideline against Darrell Luter Jr’s coverage, and sure enough Pearsall drew Mac Jones’ target for a catch, as seemingly scripted. A few plays later, after safety Malik Mustapha nearly intercepted a deep pass, Morris jogged over to Shanahan to relay praise about Mustapha’s range.

Shanahan headed off the field about five minutes before practice ended, leaving Foerster to break down the team. “I talked about how fired up I was to be a part of this team and how much I love the way they practice, the energy they bring every day,” Foerster said.

Williams noted the 49ers’ veteran corps helps cover for Shanahan, so that “it can be on autopilot. We’ve got that locker room.”

BOSA’S COMEBACK

Defensive end Nick Bosa, in his first practice since last September’s right ACL tear, looked as sharp as ever in his agility drills and sprints. Bosa did warm-up drills with defensive line then returned to individual conditioning rather than participate in 11-on-11 action.

“I see him every day. I can’t even tell that he had an injury or he came back from anything,” Williams said. ” You know, most people with a knee injury that catastrophic, you come back, you can see something, right? You can see it in the atrophy in the muscle in the leg. You can see something. Bosa looks better than he did before he got hurt last year. So, that’s just a compliment to him and how hard he works.”

LINEBACKERS REUNITE

The most surreal sight was not just seeng Warner back from last season’s ankle injury but also lining up again next to Dre Greenlaw, who spent last season in Denver. “Being back out there today, it did mean a lot, just to feel better than I ever have,” Warner said. “To be able to feel the same movements and everything like that was important, too. So, it’s just really just climbing from here.”

Greenlaw’s aggressive nature was back in midseason form as he tried stripping the ball from young running backs. “Today kind of met every expectation,” Warner said. “Even the days leading up to today, I’ve been having to tell him like, ‘Hey, bro, like relax.’ Because he’s just been amped up, ready to go.”

LOWE GETS HURT

Offensive tackle Vederian Lowe, signed this spring as Williams’ likely backup, sustained an apparent injury to his right ankle only eight plays into team drills. Lowe, wearing a brace on his right knee, appeared to collide with a teammate in the backfield, then walked off the field with a trainer. Foerster had no update on Lowe’s health.

EXTRA POINTS

Christian McCaffrey, after a NFL-high 413 touches last season, ran off right guard on the first play of team drills. … Brock Purdy opened up the offense’s warmups with a completion to Mike Evans, the 49ers’ top free agency acquisition. … De’Zhaun Stribling made a nice sliding catch against Jack Jones’ tight coverage to cap practice. … Jalen Graham and Marques Sigle intercepted consecutive passes by Mac Jones. … Among those auditioning at punt returner were Jacob Cowing, Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins and Junior Bergen. … Rookies Romello Height and Gracen Halton hyped up the crowd before the first of 11 open practices. Halton appeared to tweak an ankle later in practice but remained in the action. … Defensive tackle Kevin Givens re-signed, a day after Evan Anderson was waived.