49ers Notebook: Richard Sherman responds to drug test, Shanahan insists week is normal

It might be coincidental Richard Sherman was drug tested Wednesday by the NFL the same evening he criticized the league for the idea of playing a 17-game schedule ahead of the Super Bowl.

“I have no idea,” Sherman said Thursday. “I think it’s ridiculous. But it’s the league.”

It was the second time the All-Pro cornerback had been asked to give a blood test since after the divisional round victory over the Minnesota Vikings, when Sherman had the first of two postseason interceptions.

Sherman tweeted: “So a Random PED and Blood test two weeks in a row?! I gotta go play the lottery I must be the most lucky man in the world.”

He followed it up with: “I wonder how many other player have to get blood taken before the Super Bowl. Probably a very exclusive fraternity.”

The league insists the tests are random and there’s an extremely slim chance a player would get tested twice during the same month.

The test came the same day after Sherman criticized the league’s active stance toward adding a game to the regular season and making it 17 games. Sherman, a vice president of the players union, has been outspoken against adding a game to the schedule.

“It’s always odd when you hear player safety is their biggest concern,” Sherman said Wednesday. “And they’re really standing up for player safety, player safety, player safety. But it seems like player safety has a price tag. Player safety, up to the point of, “Hey, 17 games makes us this money — so we really don’t care how safe they are, if you’re gonna pay us this much money to play another game.”

Sherman was asked about the testing Thursday during the 49ers’ final media availability before playing the Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl 54.

“They’ll say it was random, but they’ll also say the chances of it being random after saying that a player got tested after the (divisional round) for blood would also get tested for blood before the Super Bowl,” he said. “I would say the chances of that happening would be infinitesimally low. I’m sure they would agree. So apparently I’m just the outlier.”

Super Bowl week is old hat for 49ers

Sherman’s team spent two weeks away from its Santa Clara facility during the regular season and has been used to the unique circumstances created this week by the Super Bowl. The 49ers stayed in Youngstown, Ohio, between the first two games of the season and then Bradenton, Florida, between weeks 13 and 14.

The team’s two most explosive offensive performances of the year came after those stays. The team had 571 yards in a blowout in Cincinnati and 516 yards in the shootout, 48-46 victory in New Orleans.

“It’s been really the exact same schedule, the guys have been very used to it,” Shanahan said Thursday. “What’s changed is at night we’ve had hour media obligations, three of the nights that we’ve been here, besides that we’ve been able to keep the routine the same.

“Our families are going to get here tonight, hopefully the guys can see their families tonight like they would on a normal Thursday. Tomorrow it will be the same routine (at practice), red zone, get out somewhat earlier, have our Saturday walkthrough and we’ll be ready to go.”

▪ San Francisco’s second practice of the week Thursday lasted one hour and 42 minutes, according to a pool report. Players were in helmets and shells, which is a change from when the team normally wears pads in their most intense practice of the week.

“I don’t think they need the pads,” Shanahan said. “I’m trying to make sure we get into the game healthy.”

▪ The 49ers’ status report from Thursday’s practice was unchanged from Wednesday.

Running back Tevin Coleman, who is likely to play Sunday after dislocating his shoulder, linebacker Kwon Alexander (pectoral) and safety Jaquiski Tartt (ribs), were all limited participants in the afternoon session at the University of Miami.

The Chiefs’ injury report was also unchanged from Wednesday. Defensive tackle Chris Jones (calf), tight end Travis Kelce (knee), center Austin Reiter (wrist) and tight end Deon Yelder (achilles) were all full participants.