Chris Simms shares some details about Kyle Shanahan's injuries
· Yahoo Sports
After the 49ers announced on July 25 that coach Kyle Shanahan had been involved in a serious car accident on July 14, questions were raised regarding how the information remained under wraps for 11 days. Obviously, some reporters knew about it before the 49ers disclosed it — and the 49ers only disclosed it when they did because training camp opened that same day.
Chris Simms, who has known Kyle for many years, was aware of the accident. Chris opted not to betray the longstanding friendship by, for example, telling his PFT Live co-host about it. I wouldn't have wanted to know about anything that couldn't be reported until the 49ers wanted it to be known, because I would have felt compelled to develop and share objectively important information as it relates to one of the short-list NFC Super Bowl contenders.
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On Monday's PFT Live, Simms shared some of what he knows about the incident.
"I get a text from Kyle's wife, Mandy. She texts myself and my wife, and it's like, 'Oh no, Kyle's been a part of some horrible accident,'" Simms said. "And she sent us some pictures right off the bat, and it was like, 'Oh my gosh.' So just to let you know, paint the picture, you've seen the injury report, the broken ribs, 40 stitches in the face, the broken nose, broken left hand. Of course, the bad concussion. But when you first see it, and it's fresh, and some of the cuts are still wide open, I mean, it's jarring. It's jarring.
"He was this close to maybe losing his right eye, right? The scar is so big right here. And so all that stuff was just crazy to see. And, of course, I was thinking of my friend, but yeah, it's tough. And he's still battling with this concussion. . . . He's healing. His face looks a whole lot better, but this concussion, of course, being a part of that kind of accident is lingering and it's giving him issues, and he's certainly still dealing with that."
As bad as it was, it could have been worse.
"I think that's what shook them up, right?" Simms said. "I don't think he'd have any problem with me sharing this. It hit him hard, right? He was emotional about it, because he realized how close it was to being just a complete, you know, utter disaster. Like, really, it was a disaster anyways. But, you know, when you're that part of that accident, like I said, he could have lost his right eye. It could have been a lot worse. You know, he's very concerned about the woman he got in the accident with and how she is and handling that situation. So there's just a lot there. And I think it was a lot for him to process . . . at first as well. And then, of course, with it being, you know, a few days before you've got to start going to the office and worrying about football and everything else on top of it, where your break's ending and you're dealing with that as well, yeah, it was tough for him. It's tough for their family. Their kids were in shock, and, you know, you just realize how fragile life can be, and how it can all change in just one split second. And thank God he's okay. But, yeah, he's gonna have to deal with this and, you know, hopefully get his mind cleared up here over the next few weeks."
Simms said Shanahan assumed the effects of the concussion would subside quickly.
"it took a few days for him to realize, 'Whoa, I'm not working the right way.' You know, at first, 'Yeah, I got in a car accident.' And, of course, you know you're going to be a little fuzzy and not normal. But then I feel like it got into somewhere like day six or seven and you're starting to now [say], 'Hey, I should start feeling better. I should start thinking more clearly.' Things like that. And I know he was a little alarmed about, like, 'I'm not functioning at a high level.'"
Shanahan will participate in 49ers training camp on a limited basis, until he's fully cleared from the concussion. On Sunday, he was present for roughly 30 minutes of practice.