49ers blindsided by county rules that make them homeless

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said the team was blindsided by new coronavirus regulations put in place by Santa Clara County officials that will force the 49ers to find a temporary new home for practice and games.

The county announced the new rules Saturday that include a three-week ban on practices and games for contact sports starting Monday. The Niners were on a plane getting ready to travel to Los Angeles where they beat the Rams 23-20 on Sunday when the players and coaches heard about the new rules that will force the team out of its homes.

“We’ve been working with them as a partner, just trying to figure it out,” Shanahan said. “For us to be heading out here yesterday and the relationship we have with them, for all of our players and coaches and everyone on that plane and our wives to find that out while we’re getting on a plane and no one to tell us. It was just extremely disappointing.”

A county spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Along with banning contact sports, the new rules also require anyone who has traveled more than 150 miles from the county to quarantine for 14 days. The 49ers were set to return from the trip Sunday night just hours before the rules go into effect.

The 49ers will now need to find a new place to practice and to play games. They have two home games scheduled during this three-week stretch: Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington.

While there are options outside Santa Clara in the Bay Area, including the Raiders' old home at Oakland Coliseum, it appears more likely that the team will play its home games at an existing NFL stadium out of this market. The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys have no home games scheduled on the same day as Niners home games the rest of the...