Ward not practicing but is said to be OK
After he was a limited participant in practice last week, 49ers starting free safety Jimmie Ward was not a participant in practice Tuesday.
On Sunday, after the 49ers’ preseason loss in Minnesota, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Ward did not have a setback when he appeared to aggravate his hamstring injury in warmups.
“He pulled some scar tissue,” Shanahan said. “In that case, it’s a good thing and not a bad thing. You have to break that scar tissue up. Sometimes it can be a little scary and not feel like it’s a good thing. It feels like you’re re-pulling it. He was worried about that, but after getting in here, he was very happy and excited about what happened out there.”
Ward, who was injured July 27, was taken off the physically unable to perform list last week and did individual work with secondary coach Jeff Hafley during three practices. Shanahan had said Ward wouldn’t play Sunday two days before kickoff.
“I know there was something pregame,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Tuesday before practice. “From all indications I’ve received he’s good to go, and he’s still on course.”
In other injury news, linebacker Brock Coyle (leg), cornerback Will Redmond (ankle) and wide receiver Aaron Burbridge (hamstring) were among those not practicing. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead was given the day due to soreness.
Dime defense: After inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman was removed in favor of a sixth defensive back in the 49ers’ dime package Sunday, Saleh said the same personnel may not be used in the regular season.
Rookie inside linebacker Reuben Foster was the only linebacker on the field when the 49ers went to dime.
“That won’t be all the time,” Saleh said. “It’s preseason. We wanted to try some new things. Another opportunity to get the rookies some reps. I thought the package looked cool. It could easily be Bowman in there. It could be Reuben. They could rotate.”
Saleh said the package wasn’t an indictment of Bowman’s coverage skills, and offered that Bowman had some feedback about the dime look.
“He’s a major competitor,” Saleh said. “At halftime he was giving me some good ideas of how to make that thing evolve even more. I love Bowman. That is not something that is set in stone.”
Did Bowman’s ideas include him being part of the dime package? Saleh smiled. “Oh, yeah,” he said “There’s a reason why he is who he is and the reason why he’s had so much success. I would expect nothing less from him to want to be (out) there.”
Prep visitors: The Mililani (Hawaii) High School football team attended the 49ers’ practice in advance of their game at Clayton Valley in Concord on Friday night.
Mililani assistant coach Maa Tanuvasa, 46, was a defensive lineman who spent six of his seven NFL seasons playing for Shanahan’s dad, Mike, when he was Denver’s head coach.