SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke with Bay Area reporters Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said.
HARBAUGH: Michael Crabtree underwent surgery to repair his Achilles tendon that he tore yesterday. The surgery was successful and we do not anticipate that it will be season-ending.
Q: Was it a partial tear or a full tare?
HARBAUGH: It was completely torn and completely repaired.
Q: How did it happen?
HARBAUGH: He was coming in motion, planted and started a route and he said it felt like someone kicked him in the Achilles – that’s what most people say that feels like. Good news is he woke up from the surgery and the first thing he asked the doctor how it went. He talked about the success of the surgery and he didn’t anticipate he’d be out for the year. His comment to that was, ‘Got no choice but to be back.’ Every day now is a healing day, and that starts today.
Q: How disappointed was he?
HARBAUGH: It’s a setback, but Michael’s young, he’s strong. Everything will be a positive approach to healing and we’ll anticipate great things. Another thing right now is if you look at the young receivers on our team that will emerge because they have to emerge. I’m excited to watch them compete for that spot.
Q: Is this the exact same injury Kendall Hunter sustained last season?
HARBAUGH: Same injury, yes.
Q: So is Crabtree on a similar timetable as what Hunter was on?
HARBAUGH: There was a different process with Kendall because there was more time. They took more time after the injury to do the surgery. A bit of a different approach the way I understand it, talking to doctors.
Q: Are you considering bringing Randy Moss back?
HARBAUGH: We’re excited for the young receivers that we have, and feel that somebody’s going to emerge there because they have to. Competition will create that, and we’ll look forward to watching that.
Q: Are you pleased Jenkins and Lockette spent the offseason training with Kaepernick?
HARBAUGH: Yeah, the guys they are, the players that they are, and the opportunity that they have, all those things will facilitate their emergence.
Q: Why wasn’t Anquan Boldin here today?
HARBAUGH: He had some prior commitments. For this week.
Q: Anybody standout this week?
HARBAUGH: Oh, yeah, there’s a lot of guys standing out. Right now, we got a long way to go, a long road to hoe. We understand that, and our guys are working on getting better every single day, coming out here with a plan what they need to get done before the day is over and their head can hit the pillow and they can feel good about what they accomplished. I like the way our team is working. I like the way they’re going about their business. It’s serious, and they’re focused on improving.
Q: Was Crabtree doing 11-on-11 drills when he tore his Achilles?
HARBAUGH: 7-on-7.
Q: How did Kaepernick play this week?
HARBAUGH: Kap was sharp again today. He’s been really strong, running the offense, throwing the ball extremely well, he’s in great physical shape. He’s in total command of the offense.
Q: How did McCoy play this week?
HARBAUGH: He had a good day today. Colt was very sharp, as well. He had probably his best day. Like every other team right now, they’re building the knowledge for the system, getting better and better at it each day. That’s job No. 1. The second thing is, maybe, building that callous for playing football. So far, so good. It’s going well.
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