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49ers enjoying stay at The Greenbrier (With Gallery)

Sep. 16—The San Francisco 49ers made their return to The Greenbrier late Sunday, a year after making the same stop between East Coast games.

Wednesday marked the team's first media availability of the week and, just as with the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans before them, the obligatory questions about their Greenbrier experience were raised.

Familiarity was the common theme, with head coach Kyle Shanahan taking a bit of a comical approach.

"The wallpaper is rough in our rooms, that hasn't changed," he said. "But everything else is pretty awesome."

The 49ers made the same trip last September when they had back-to-back games at MetLife Stadium against the Jets and Giants. They opened the 2021 season with a 41-33 win over Detroit and will visit Philadelphia on Sunday, using another stay in the Mountain State to cut down on travel from the West Coast.

The Greenbrier constructed its Sports Performance Center in 2014 to welcome the New Orleans Saints for a three-year training camp stay. The Houston Texans then held training camp there in 2017 and 2018.

Players and coaches from both teams always spoke highly of their experience, and it's no different with the 49ers.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is making his third stay at The Greenbrier — he was with the Patriots when they held a joint practice with the Saints. Garopplo did say the weather is more humid here than in California, but once the learned the layout of the resort, he has enjoyed the experience.

"I think just knowing the layout. Like I said, knowing the layout is a big part of it, just with the scheduling and everything," Garoppolo said. "It's a little bit different than what we're used to back home. So getting place to place, the bus drivers are awesome. Those guys, learn more about West Virginia every time from those guys. They're a fun time. But yeah, just the familiarity with it getting used to it. And I mean, out here, it's gorgeous. So you can't beat this."

Even with the stay lasting only a few days, Shanahan said having a familiar routine is good.

"Any time you know what you're getting into, I think it always helps," he said. "The unknown to me when you get off your routine is what messes guys up a little bit, but that's why we like coming here. They do it awesome, but we also know exactly what we're getting into. We have a great facility that we don't have to leave for all the football stuff. We've got two practice fields, two full fields, which is great."

The Greenbrier wasn't the only topic on Wednesday. Running back Raheem Mostert sustained a knee injury at Detroit and will have season-ending surgery. An oft-released player early in his career, Mostert had a big 2019 season when the 49ers won the NFC championship.

He rushed for 220 yards in the championship game against Green Bay for the second-most yards rushing in a playoff game to Eric Dickerson's 248 for the Rams on Jan. 4, 1986. Mostert was the first player to rush for at least four TDs and 200 yards in a playoff game.

Shanahan will look to the team's depth at the position, calling on Elijah Mitchell, JaMycal Hasty and Trey Sermon to step up. He also mentioned Jeff Wilson, who was injured in the offseason. Shanahan hopes Wilson will be back by midseason.

There's not a lot of experience among the current stable. Mitchell and Sermon were both 2021 draft picks. Hasty was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Baylor in 2020. He had 39 carries for 148 yards and a touchdown last season.

"It's one of those tough breaks for (Mostert), just get started, off to a hot start like that, and then you lose him. So we're going to miss him," Garoppolo said. "But the young guys, like Elijah did in the game and Hasty, I've seen it last year with Haste, he's always ready to roll. He's a gamer. And then we'll bring Trey along, get him ready for this week. I mean, they're a good group and they really are. They complement each other really well. It's a little bit of different tastes with each one of them. They each have their own style of doing it, but it's all effective. And I think with the o-line we've got, tight ends, fullbacks, even receivers blocking it. It makes for a good group."

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @GaryFauber