49ers have good news on Bosa, Ford and Hurd
SANTA CLARA — Not to jinx things but the 49ers opened training camp Tuesday with glowing updates on key comebacks, and none could mean more to them than defensive ends Nick Bosa and Dee Ford.
Safety Jimmie Ward anticipates benefiting from a revised pass rush that can lead to turnovers.
“They’re going to be nice. It gives me vibes of 2019,” Ward said Tuesday. “I hate backtracking but I just want to make that comparison. They’re going to have their own identity, and they’re going to be a great unit.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan quipped that it was simply nice to see Bosa back in the 49ers’ facility Tuesday as players reported for camp. Bosa had been on the mend elsewhere since sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament Sept. 20 at the New York Jets.
“The cool thing with Nick is he’s good at documenting workouts and sending them our way. You always get to see videos,” general manager John Lynch said. “You never have to question his work ethic. It’s a special routine he’s developed and it’s fun to watch a guy like that work.”
Bosa will ease into camp and likely not join full-team drills the first week, and the same goes for Ford, who missed all but last season’s opener after experience neck and back pain.
Lynch said Ford did not require surgery but that his injury has been challenging while rehabilitating it all last season and this year. “It has been a moving target, and that’s not abnormal when dealing with the core of your body and your spine,” Lynch said. “We feel we have a good handle on it but it’s a cautiously optimistic approach.”
Bosa and Ford combined for 15 1/2 sacks two seasons ago as the 49ers won the NFC’s No. 1 seed before advancing to the Super Bowl. Neither was made available to the media Tuesday.
Tight end George Kittle championed Bosa’s comeback, saying: “I love Nicky. He’s incredible. He looks great. I told him cut blocks are live the first day he’s back and to be ready. Kyle didn’t like that joke.
“I have zero worries about Nick Bosa. He’s an incredible football player that trains at a very, very high level. … Leave it to your imagination but he’s going to be a hell of a football player again.”
Another comeback story that Kittle and others can’t wait to watch is that of wide receiver Jalen Hurd, who missed his rookie season with a back injury and then tore an ACL two days into camp last summer.
Kittle said Hurd is a 6-foot-5 monster who is “ferocious” when he’s on the field. He only played in two 2019 exhibitions and very few practices since then, however. “Jalen’s a
freak of nature. We all know that,” Kittle said. “He can do about whatever he wants to do.”
And what if Shanahan wants Hurd to join Kittle as a part-time tight end, as the coach hinted at on 2019 draft day?
“Jalen’s going to be just fine,” Kittle said. “He’s going to get out there, catch the ball, look really good, and if he wants to play tight end, we’ll definitely make space for him, because he can do about whatever he wants on the football field.”
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. (knee) and safety Tarvarius Moore (Achilles) are who the 49ers initially put on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and if they remain there once the season starts Sept. 12, they’ll miss six weeks, which is their likely prognosis. Veteran safety Jaquiski Tartt (toe) also is a PUP candidate.