SANTA CLARA -- In the immediate aftermath of respected veteran Jason Verrett’s season-ending Achilles tear during practice on Wednesday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan gathered the team around.
Shanahan offered the team the opportunity to end practice on the spot.
“It seems like once a year, when a cart has to come out there and it's always rough,” Shanahan said on Friday. “And it's always hard to kind of go on practicing when it's towards the end.
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“That's tough when a guy gets carted off just to sit there and say, 'You're as sad as everyone else; now it's time to go practice.' But that is what you need to do.”
Shanahan said the team came to the consensus that practice should continue, as the 49ers prepare for their game Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“You need to go practice after that, but it was cool that the players recognized that,” Shanahan said. “Everyone was so emotional. I just asked them what they wanted to do, and it was quiet for about three seconds and then everyone said, ‘Let's finish.’”
Verrett sustained the injury just one play after breaking up a pass. He went down with the non-contact injury after coming out of a backpedal, Shanahan said. Verrett will be placed on injured reserve this weekend.
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Shanahan said he has been impressed with the way his team has handled the disappointment of seeing Verrett experience another season-ending injury. Verrett has sustained two torn Achilles and two torn ACL’s in his nine-year career.
“It's hard for everyone to watch that,” Shanahan said. “That's because we're sad for the journey that's ahead for J.V.
“We're going to all be there to help him any time he needs it. I think it reminds everyone that you just can't take stuff for granted, and it's not just on the football field. It’s anywhere.”