Kyle Shanahan made things very clear before the 49ers’ recent bye week. Players need to earn their keep over the final six games, even with no hope of reaching the postseason.
“You’re always playing for something,” the second-year coach said. “This league doesn’t have patience. I don’t have patience. No one in this league has patience. You shouldn’t have to say that to players. And most of the players that have been around, (mostly) veterans, understand that. But a lot of people don’t understand that. And sometimes, you do have to educate people on that.”
A number of players are taking the message to heart, likely because they’ve been humbled during a 2-8 stretch after entering the season with momentum from the five-game winning streak to end the previous campaign.