Shanahan conducts relatively quiet practice

The 49ers won’t have fans at their season opener against the Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium, and it’s not clear if NFL teams will have pumpedin crowd noise at games this season.

Given that, head coach Kyle Shanahan, who usually has music blaring during practice, went with the sound of silence for Friday’s session. It was the first trainingcamp practice held at Levi’s, and Shanahan wanted to simulate possible game conditions.

“It’s awkward to play football in a silent place,” Shanahan said. “… Even in high school, when you don’t have many people in the stands, there’s still noise.”

Reporters observing Friday’s practice from the stands could hear highdecibel defensive line coach Kris Kocurek exhorting his players.

And Shanahan could be heard loud and clear after a sequence in which the firstteam offense committed a presnap penalty and allowed a sack before center Daniel Brunskill’s shotgun snap sailed by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and rolled into the end zone.

Shanahan’s reaction? Reporters aren’t permitted to quote what coaches and players say during practice, but let’s say Shanahan wasn’t amused as he made it clear he wanted the firstteam offense to exit the field.

Shanahan was asked if he was concerned about other coaching staffs being able to hear what he’s telling players during games.

“Probably more concerned about saying something — the wrong type of word — and it being on TV more than the coaches hearing us on the other side,” Shanahan said.

Injury report: Tight end George Kittle did not practice because of a tight hamstring, an issue that kept him out of the end of Wednesday’s practice. Shanahan said Kittle does not have a strained hamstring and suggested he was sidelined for precautionary reasons.

“The way George moves and the way he goes, he only knows one way,” Shanahan said. “So when he’s tight, we’re going to protect him from himself and wait until he’s not tight.”

Wide receiver J.J. Nelson ,a fiveyear veteran who was signed Aug. 15, is expected to be sidelined for about a month with a knee injury, ESPN reported. Nelson was probably a long shot to make the 53man roster, but he was a candidate to serve as one of six veterans with unlimited experience on the practice squad.

“It’s awkward to play football in a silent place.”

Kyle Shanahan, 49ers head coach