Sherman, Ford out another few weeks
AllPro cornerback Richard Sherman and Pro Bowl pass rusher Dee Ford have missed the past five games. And they could miss the next five. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that Sherman ( calf ) and Ford ( back) aren’t likely to return until around the 49ers’ bye week in late November, at the earliest. The 49ers will play four more games before their bye following a visit to New Orleans on Nov. 15. Sherman, 32, whose calf strain is connected to a past Achilles injury, had shots to help with inflammation last week and is in a walking boot, Shanahan said. The 49ers originally expected Sherman to miss three to four games. “It’s obviously going a little longer than we expected,” Shanahan said. “Got to play it smart with him.” Meanwhile, Ford, 29, who also hasn’t played since the season opener, has been out with what the 49ers initially described as a neck injury. “He’s gotten the shots he’s needed,” Shanahan said. “He’s rested it and now he’s just starting to get back into some things. But still a ways away on that.”
Williams sidelined: Shanahan said Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams didn’t suffer a high ankle sprain in Sunday’s win against the Rams. However, Williams, who underwent an MRI exam Monday, was in too much pain to practice Wednesday, and Shanahan indicated his availability for Sunday’s visit to New England is in question. If Williams is unable to play, he would be replaced by Justin Skule. Skule, 2019 sixthround pick, made eight fillin starts in his rookie season. In other injury news, strong safety Jaquiski Tartt ( groin), linebacker Kwon Alexander ( ankle) and running back Raheem Mostert ( ankle) did not practice. Running back Jeff Wilson ( calf ) and cornerback Dontae Johnson ( groin) were limited.
Garoppolo’s decision: On Sunday, two years after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL when he decided to lower his shoulder into a defender instead of running out of bounds, he made a similar decision against the Rams. Garoppolo lowered his throwing shoulder at the end of a 6yard scramble in the fourth quarter and initiated a huge collision with Rams cornerback Troy Hill. “I definitely didn’t like it,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think he did, either. I think he was looking back and the guy caught him at the last second — or he saw the guy at the last second. And he did his natural reaction to protect himself and fortunately he got out of there all right. But something you definitely want to avoid. He knows he wants to avoid. The guy just snuck up on him a little bit.” Garoppolo said after the game that the situation factored into his decision not to slide and protect himself. He fled the pocket on 3rdand9 from the Rams’ 37yard line. Robbie Gould’s 49yard field goal gave the 49ers a 249 lead on the next snap.
“Well, I knew where we needed to get to,” Garoppolo said. “Didn't really want to slide and even make it a longer field goal, so I was trying to actually to get down a little bit. ( The) DB wanted to — I don't know, just kind of happened last second, running into each other like that. But it was a big, big point of the game just to get us another three points to keep that lead and really help the defense.”