Kyle Shanahan’s car crash stayed quiet for nearly two weeks, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms thinks there were a few reasons the news didn’t surface right away.
Shanahan was hurt in a head-on collision in Palo Alto on July 14, and the list of injuries was severe: a concussion, a broken nose, three fractured ribs, a broken left hand and facial lacerations that needed more than 40 stitches. The San Francisco 49ers did not announce the accident until July 25, when the team said Shanahan would be back at training camp in a limited role while he continued recovering.
On ProFootballTalk this week, Simms said he expected the story to break much earlier. He also said the extent of the injuries was even worse than many realized, noting that Shanahan nearly lost his right eye.
“I was sitting there every day after it happened going, ‘Is the news going to break today? Is the news going to break today?
Is the news going to break today?’'” Simms said.
“I certainly looked at my wife a few times in the last 12-13 days, and we looked at each other, ‘Huh, this is pretty amazing it still hasn’t come out.'”
Simms then laid out what he believes helped keep the incident under wraps. He pointed to Shanahan’s standing in the Bay Area, the fact that the crash happened while Shanahan was coming from a chiropractic adjustment, and the location near the stadium.
“I think between that and the goodwill he’s worked up there in the San Francisco area, and the fact that, of course, I believe he was coming from a chiropractic adjustment when this all happened, so he was close to the stadium,” he explained. “As you know and we know, these organizations are tied into the police departments that are around the stadium and the facilities and all that.”
“So, with all that, I’m with you. I’m surprised it took that long to come out as well, but at the same time I understood it, once I shared a few of those details that I just explained right there.”
Simms did not say the 49ers or police intentionally kept the crash quiet. He was offering a theory, not proof, and said those relationships and circumstances may have played a part in the delay.
After the crash became public, more records came out showing the other driver was listed as the at-fault party. Those same public records also said Shanahan was holding a handheld cell phone at the time of the crash, though police did not cite him.
Shanahan has since returned to the 49ers’ facility and is taking part in training camp on a limited basis while he recovers.
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