The 49ers may have an early hurdle to clear in their Super Bowl preparations. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, San Francisco may be looking for a different practice setup than the one they’re slated to have at UNLV.
San Francisco on Sunday arrived in Las Vegas for the week-long lead up to Super Bowl LVIII, but a handful of team personnel got ahead of the rest of the club to go ensure the practice facilities are to their liking.
Jones on Monday reported the 49ers weren’t happy with the softness of the sod the NFL laid atop the turf at UNLV’s practice facility, indicating it’s softer than they prefer it to be.
Since it’s not a safety issue and instead just a matter of preference, there may not be many avenues for the 49ers to justify a switch. Jones wrote that the 49ers could negotiate with the NFL to practice at the Raiders’ facility where the Chiefs are holding their sessions. They could also bring in their own, firmer sod if they don’t want to roll forward with what’s available at UNLV.
Unless the team really believes there’s a safety issue, it’s hard to imagine they’d go through the process of trying to change practice facilities at this juncture. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already detailed how difficult it is to prepare for the Super Bowl on a normal schedule amid all the festivities and responsibilities leading up to the game. Adding in a variable of where they’ll practice doesn’t seem like something they’d be keen on doing.
San Francisco on Monday will have a walk-through practice at UNLV, at which point they’ll likely make a decision on how they’ll proceed the rest of the week.
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