49ers prepared in case COVID-19 causes schedule change amid NFL’s problems
The New England Patriots canceled practice Friday due to a positive COVID-19 test. It’s a stark reminder of the unprecedented challenges facing NFL teams this season. The San Francisco 49ers must be ready to make changes on the fly, as a handful of NFL teams have during this worldwide pandemic.
New England, of course, is next on San Francisco’s schedule for Week 7 following Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. As of Friday afternoon, the NFL planned to hold the Patriots home game against the Denver Broncos as scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT, though that could change. The game has already been postponed twice.
The Patriots recently had their road game against the Kansas City Chiefs moved from a Sunday to Monday night Oct. 5 after both teams reported positive tests, including to Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and later star cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday he’s prepared to make any adjustments necessary should his team have to make changes to its schedule to help avoid a coronavirus outbreak. That could include using next week as a bye if the Patriots game has to be rescheduled.
“I feel like I’m always prepared to adapt to whatever the situation is,” Shanahan said. “I’m not going to sit here and say we’re preparing every day for what’s going to happen that we have no idea. We’re prepared that we’re going to eventually have to adjust.”
To date, 10 teams have had their schedule altered by COVID-19 protocols following positive tests. The 49ers have not been one of them. A respite might be welcomed given the team’s slew of injuries. The team is waiting to see if star cornerback Richard Sherman’s injections to deal with calf inflammation will help, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo likely wouldn’t mind more time to rest a high ankle sprain that prevented him from making accurate throws before getting benched at halftime of last week’s loss to the Dolphins.
The Atlanta Falcons worked remotely leading up to Sunday’s games as their facility was shut down when a member of the organization tested positive, though it reopened Friday. The Indianapolis Colts closed their facility Friday after several positive tests.
No team has been affected more than the Tennessee Titans, who aren’t on the 49ers’ schedule. The Titans are the only team to have a substantial outbreak, with 24 players and personnel testing positive since Sept. 24. They went 17 days between games because of the outbreak.
San Francisco, meanwhile, hasn’t had to use the reserve/COVID-19 list since linebacker Fred Warner was removed from it just before the season opener. Shanahan was one of five coaches fined by the league $100,000 last month for not wearing a mask properly on the sidelines, which also led to a $250,000 fine for the team.
The 49ers have gotten used to the new normal at their Santa Clara facility since the team returned in early August. The team constructed individual weightlifting tents on a side practice field to ensure players are properly distanced while strength training. They’ve also created new meetings rooms inside the expansive club areas in Levi’s Stadium to allow at least 6 feet between players’ seats. The cafeteria was closed, instead giving players prepackaged grab-and-go meals.
Throughout it all, San Francisco’s logistics team has been on its toes while Shanahan indicated Friday he expects something to happen that could cause the schedule to adjust.
“There’s not a lot of options to it. If you have to shut down, you shut down and then you figure out when you can come back,” he said. “And you see the time that you have to come back to get ready for a game and it doesn’t sound like that’s ever something that’s going to be set in stone either.
“So, that’s kind of how we prepared coming into this year that you’re going to have to be able to adapt a lot of situations you’re not sure about. I think that’s the main thing you’re ready for. Don’t freak out and get overwhelmed with it, expect it to happen as a matter of time before it does happen and when it does, embrace it and do it the best you can.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 7:30 AM.