The 49ers did something you don’t see every Sunday: They had teammates go at it on the sideline.
49ers receiver Deebo Samuel confronted teammate Jake Moody on the sideline after the kicker missed a third field goal against the Bucs. Long snapper Taybor Pepper defended Moody, prompting Samuel to strike Pepper and grab him around the neck.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said immediately after the game he didn’t feel the need to address it, but did Monday after seeing coverage of the teammate-on-teammate crime. Shanahan said he’s satisfied with where things stand.
“I talked to the guys about it, talked to a number of guys on the team, and we squashed it, and we’re good,” Shanahan said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “I think it was a little bit of an overreaction. You never want Deebo to throw a baby punch or anything on anybody on our own team, but Deebo also wasn’t saying anything bad to Jake, like it sounded. He was meeting him on the field, telling them to ‘lock in,’ the same thing I’ll tell to an offensive player who just dropped some balls or made some penalties or something.
“You never sit there and belittle anybody or try to embarrass anyone. You try to challenge guys that you believe in. That’s how we speak to each other, and telling someone they need to focus and lock in because we know you can do this.”
Shanahan also defended Pepper’s role in the confrontation.
“I like Pep’s intentions on it,” Shanahan said. “I mean, he’s got his kicker’s back, but I think he kind of interpreted wrong what Deebo was doing to him and overreacted a little bit, and Deebo didn’t like that and got him out of his face, and that’s really about where it ended.”
Shanahan said the team will fine no one for the incident he calls no big deal.
Moody kicked the 44-yard game-winner on the final play, going 2-for-5 in his return from a high-ankle sprain.
