49ers scrambling to find new home after being blindsided

The San Francisco 49ers boarded their plane to Los Angeles on Saturday without any idea they were about to be hit with huge news that would impact their foreseeable futures.

Coach Kyle Shanahan’s team, without warning, he said, found out Santa Clara County barred all professional and college sports teams from having games or practices, which meant the 49ers would have to find a new practice field and home stadium for at least the next three weeks and possibly the final five weeks of the regular season.

“Are we going to be gone for the entire month of December? Are we going to be quarantined for 14 days when we come back? That’s all we could talk about for the last 18 hours,” Shanahan said Sunday after his team’s 23-20 victory over the Rams. “Because we got no answers from (county officials). Just very disappointed.”

The 49ers have been working with Santa Clara County since the summer when they came to an agreement to allow training camp to go on amid the pandemic despite the county limiting public gatherings and, at the time, allowing only essential workers to be exempt from restrictions.

Since then, all players, coaches and important members of the organization have tested for COVID-19 daily while the team has used trackers for everyone in the building for contract tracing, and followed strict social distancing guidelines, which included setting up makeshift meeting rooms to allow at least six feet between seats.

Suffice to say, the 49ers were blindsided by the county’s decision Saturday, that was made because of the growing number of COVID cases and the decreasing number of hospital beds in the area. San Francisco also had its worst run of players added to the reserve/COVID-19 list during a bye week coming into Sunday’s game, at one point having nine players on the list, which shrunk to three players before Sunday’s game.

“All we’ve done for our entire season is wake up in the morning, go get tested, wear our masks, trackers throughout the whole day, finish, go straight home, don’t travel, don’t go outside in public,” Shanahan said.

“Everyone’s been so committed to this. The biggest thing for me is us all leaving our families. We’re all humans just like everyone else. It’s a big deal to leave your family for the month of December.”

The 49ers had a contingency plan set up over the summer in case they couldn’t play at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara that included State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, just outside Phoenix. The NFL schedule makers made it so there are no conflicting dates with Cardinals home games, which could allow the 49ers to play there without making additional changes to the schedule. AT&T Stadium, outside of Dallas and home to the Cowboys, is also an option.

Packing up and the entire operation wouldn’t be new for the 49ers. They had three different stints practicing away from Santa Clara last season, setting up in Youngstown, Ohio, between weeks 1 and 2, and then later at IMG Academy in Brandenton, Florida, between road games against the Ravens and Saints. They also practiced in Miami for a week, of course, before February’s Super Bowl.

But these are entirely different circumstances that will force players to be away from their families for a much longer spell, which could include the holidays.

Talking about being away from family brought running back Raheem Mostert to tears during his postgame news conference on Sunday. Mostert’s family has been in Cleveland while he’s stayed in the Bay Area since the summer, with the exception to join his wife for the birth of their second child back in September.

“I left my family back at home to be a part of something like this and I don’t take anything for granted,” Mostert said. “I try to do my best to make sure that me, everyone around me, my teammates, everybody, the whole organization, is looking after each other. That’s one thing that I pride myself on. For me, personally, it’s been a struggle, not having my little family. Sorry if I get a little emotional, but it’s really tough. I miss them so much.”

In terms of timing, Shanahan said he’s unsure when a decision will be made on where the 49ers will move to, assuming Santa Clara County decides not to grant them an exemption, which seems unlikely.

“I want a place that’s safe for us, our guys,” Shanahan said. “We need a place where we can feel safe and stay because we’re not going to be able to go to our homes that are safe, so we’re going to have to stay in a hotel, somewhere. … I’m not going to be that picky.”

If there’s a hint of good news, it’s that San Francisco’s next game is a Monday night affair against the Buffalo Bills, giving the 49ers an extra day to get situated. A normal practice week for a Sunday game would begin on Wednesday, but they are planning to begin practicing Thursday before taking on Buffalo, wherever it may be.

49ers fear torn ACL for Jamar Taylor

Slot cornerback Jamar Taylor, playing in place of the injured K’Waun Williams, may have suffered a torn ACL, Shanahan said after the game.

Taylor has been a pleasant surprise for San Francisco’s defense, taking over the unenviable role of replacing Williams, who has established himself as one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL. Taylor was having another strong game against the Rams and star receiver Cooper Kupp, who had no catches before Taylor was carted off the field late in the second quarter.

Taylor’s leg bent awkwardly as hit foot stuck in the turf while taking on a block. The 49ers inserted Emmanuel Moseley into the slot to replace him.

Fortunately for San Francisco, the team had Richard Sherman back at cornerback for the first time since Week 1, allowing them to move Moseley inside without making changes at the outside roles played by Sherman and Jason Verrett. With Williams a free agent and Taylor facing a lengthy rehab, Moseley should be a leading option to handle the role permanently next year if Williams isn’t brought back.

▪ Deebo Samuel was available for the first time since straining his hamstring in the second half of the Oct. 25 win over the Patriots.

He had a game-high 133 yards receiving and was responsible for many of the offense’s biggest plays of the day. Samuel, who was among the league leaders in broken tackles last season, broke many more on Sunday, including at least three during a 26-yard catch and run in the third quarter on a second-and-14 that led to a field goal.

Samuel also screamed through the Rams defense for a 24-yard gain on the game-winning drive, before catching a crucial 4-yard slant that changed Robbie Gould’s game-winning attempt from 55 yards to 51, before another run and Rams penalty made it a 42-yard kick.

▪ Reserve cornerback Ken Webster, who has been used primarily on special teams, left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury during punt coverage. He’ll undergo testing this week.

▪ Running backs Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. were both available after being elevated off injured reserve on Saturday. Mostert hadn’t played since the last time these two teams played Oct. 18. He scored a touchdown in the first quarter and finished with 43 yards on 16 carries. Wilson added 43 yards on 12 carries.

▪ Left tackle Trent Williams and linebacker Joe Walker were available after spending the last week on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Linebackers Dre Greenlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair and tight end Jordan Reed were all made available after entering the weekend question to play due to a non-COVID related illness.

▪ Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was inactive for the third straight game and hasn’t played since the Nov. 1 first loss to Seattle.

Chris Biderman has covered the 49ers since 2013 and began covering the team for The Sacramento Bee in August 2018. He previously spent time with the Associated Press and USA TODAY Sports Media Group. A Santa Rosa native, he graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University.