Kyle Shanahan Explains Why 49ers Cancelled Joint Practices with Saints

On more than one occasion, Kyle Shanahan has said that joint practices are more beneficial than preseason games.

Mar 26, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks to the media during the NFL annual league meetings at the JW Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- On more than one occasion, Kyle Shanahan has said that joint practices are more beneficial than preseason games.

So it came as a surprise when the 49ers cancelled their joint practices with the Saints that were scheduled for this week in Irvine. Surely, this decision wasn't easy for Shanahan. On Monday, he explained why he made it. Here's what he said courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: How did you arrive at the decision to cancel the joint workouts and was that a hard thing to do for you?

SHANAHAN: “It was tough because we like to do it. In the long run, I waited so long to make the decision because of how much we enjoy doing it. But when we realized we were just doing it because we were enjoying to do it, and trying to change the monotony, that really didn't make it worth. It really wasn't the best thing for our team, with where we're at injury-wise. Love doing that stuff, and love to go out there, but the risk was too much. It outweighed the reward.”

Q: Is there any chance that you could do that before the Raiders game?

SHANAHAN: “No, it's just such a quick turnaround with us playing on Sunday, having to fly out there and stuff, so we're not going to scrimmage anyone this year.”

Q: How much, in addition to canceling the joint practice, how much do you have to kind of mix around the schedule, the practice schedule, to take care of your team at this point?

SHANAHAN: “That's kind of what I did today. We have a team in two different spots right now. We had like 23 guys miss practice last Thursday, who couldn't play in the game also and most of them starters and things like that. And when that happens, the twos and threes really have to take a heavy load. So today a lot of those guys were sore, but a lot of the other guys hadn't practiced in five days. So we just did the ones today because they needed it. We took really good care of the guys who were in two days ago, changed it up, and we’re going to give them a day off tomorrow. So those guys, the twos and threes, can continue to rest, the ones will recover from today. And then we'll get three good days in a row on our own that we can kind of control and stuff, not going against another team. Then we'll have out walk through and we'll have a game.”

Q: You’ve talked about how much you value those joint practices in the past. How concerned are you going into the season about being prepared if you don't have those?

SHANAHAN: “No concern. I think I've said I value them more than the preseason games a little bit. But I also value practice more than the games. So there's really no difference in that. We never scrimmaged against teams when I was in Atlanta. Never did in Cleveland. Never did in Washington. So it's not something that you have to do. We did once in Houston, I believe. I just think it breaks up the monotony of camp, but we can generate that stuff with ourselves. Sometimes it's nice to go against different schemes, but it all changes once the year starts anyway.”