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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has two reasons for not underestimating the Las Vegas Raiders despite their decision to bench Derek Carr and start Jarrett Stidham who has never been a starter before. One, he knows what Stidham is capable of, and two, the Niners tactician is well aware of the other weapons of the Las Vegas franchise.
Shanahan admitted as much when talking to reporters on Wednesday regarding the team's move to let Carr sit out for the final two weeks of the campaign. The two teams will meet in Week 17, and San Francisco was actually preparing to face Carr before the announcement.
For our 49ers-Raiders preview and full Week 17 predictions, listen below:
The 49ers head coach said he enjoyed watching Stidham in the Senior Bowl, noting that he liked “how he threw.” He shared that it's a memory he won't forget, which speaks volumes of the kind of talent the backup QB is.
“I know he was a talented player that we all believed was going to get drafted, and I was not surprised that New England took him,” Shanahan said of Stidham, who was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2019 and traded to the Raiders in the past offseason.
As for Derek Carr's benching, Kyle Shanahan didn't comment on the nature of his benching. However, he pointed out his belief that the 31-year-old is a really good quarterback. As mentioned as well, he's not getting complacent despite the Raiders shutting down their QB1 due to the number of players who can deal damage on the team.
“I know they're sitting down their quarterback, who I think is a real good player, but they also got three big-time weapons there on offense. Their defensive end in [Maxx] Crosby is playing as, probably, the second-best defensive player in the league, at least that I’ve seen this year. I think he’s been unbelievable. So they’ve got some guys that can wreck games, so you better be on your stuff regardless,” Shanahan added, via 49ers Webzone.
It remains to be seen how the Raiders will perform with Jarrett Stidham getting the keys to the offense, but the 49ers certainly don't have any plan to slow down regardless of who they face.
