SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Coach Kyle Shanahan's voice in Brock Purdy's helmet has been nearly a constant at practice during Purdy's first four seasons in the NFL.
That has forced Purdy to adjust as he prepares for year five with the San Francisco 49ers with Shanahan starting training camp as a silent observer at practice rather than an active part of it following a serious car crash that left the coach with a concussion.
“He’s our guy,” Purdy said about Shanahan after practice on Monday. “He’s the one leading all the team meetings and stuff and going over just situational football, what practice is going to look like. He’s our leader. It has been weird in terms of not having that. But I will say I think the assistant coaches have done a good job with stepping up."
As the starting quarterback, Purdy typically interacts with Shanahan as much or more than any other player on the team, whether it be at meetings or on the practice field where the coach typically calls in the play to the quarterback on a walkie-talkie.
That role has been given to offensive co-ordinator Klay Kubiak to start camp this summer as Shanahan recovers from the concussion. Offensive line coach Chris Foerster is running the team in Shanahan's absence with help from co-ordinators Kubiak, Raheem Morris and Brant Boyer.
Purdy said his contact with Shanahan since the car crash on July 14 has been mostly messages about Shanahan's well-being and a brief hug on the field at practice on Monday.
Shanahan once again came out about midway through practice and watched alongside general manager John Lynch for the final 45 minutes. Shanahan even had to dodge an errant deep pass from Purdy to Mike Evans.
“I saw it after and I was like, ‘Damn, I almost hit Kyle,’” Purdy said. “But I was mad we couldn’t complete the throw. … Heads up coach.”
Purdy was able to joke about it in Monday but the emotions were much different when he first heard about it from Shanahan's wife, Mandy, shortly after the crash. Shanahan suffered a concussion, broken ribs, a broken nose and broken hand in the crash that sent him to the hospital.
Purdy said he initially checked with teammate George Kittle to make sure the news was real and then focused on his coach's health.
“It hurt really bad just reading that text,” Purdy said. “First off, is he OK? What’s next? How is he and all that? I reached out to him and he hit me back up. Once he texted me back and stuff, I was, all right, he’s good. It’s a scary moment, because all you care about is life at that moment. Is he alive? Is he good? But after hearing Mandy and then what Kyle had said, I was like, all right, Kyle’s good. This is going to be a little process. I don’t know what the road to recovery looks like, but he’s going to be good. That’s all I cared about in that moment. I know he’s good, just seeing him talking to him and stuff. … I have a lot of faith that he’ll bounce back quick.”
Rookie Romello Height gets hurt in practice
Rookie defensive lineman Romello Height was carted off the field after suffering cramps late in practice. Height was attended to for several minutes before being taken off the field on the cart.
Four other players didn't practice after getting hurt in the first session on Sunday. Swing tackle Vederian Lowe has a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss a chunk of training camp.
Receiver Christian Kirk (calf strain), rookie DL Gracen Halton (bruised knee bone) and DL Andrew Farmer (back) were also out on Monday.
Cornerback Nate Hobbs returned to practice after sitting out the first session on Sunday.
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