Back injury could keep Ford out rest of season
The 49ers were woefully depleted during Thursday night’s game against the Packers.
And help might not be on the way for their defense, which is in desperate need of a stronger pass rush: General manager John Lynch indicated that Dee Ford might not play again in 2020 because of a back injury that has kept the 49ers’ Pro Bowl pass rusher sidelined since the season opener.
Lynch said Ford, 29, hadn’t made much progress in his recovery when asked if he was “hopeful” that Ford could be back at some point this season.
“Dee is still very much up in the air,” Lynch said in an interview that aired on NBC Sports Bay Area on Wednesday. “When you’re dealing with your back and things — the center of your body — there’s a lot of things that are unpredictable. Dee’s working hard, trying to find his way back.
“Whether that happens or not? Hopeful? I don’t know. We’re still leaving that door open. And working with him, doing everything possible to try to get him back out. And Dee’s working hard on it. It hasn’t been successful thus far. But hopefully that changes here in the near future.”
Lynch was more optimistic that AllPro cornerback Richard Sherman, 32, could return in 2020 after he suffered a calf strain in the season opener. The 49ers initially thought Sherman, whose injury is connected to an issue with one of his surgically repaired Achilles tendons, would miss no more than four games.
“With Sherm, we are” hopeful, Lynch said. “And I’m keeping my fingers crossed because this has been a stubborn one coming back from. And I think he had a setback at some point. And had a procedure — some sort of injection — where they put some sort of fluid in there that they felt … they told us, ‘ Hey, doing this is going to take some time. You’ve got to allow it to take root and then build him back up.’ And so, I think, ( with) Sherm, we’re feeling good.”
Potential violations: The NFL and union are looking into potential coronavirus protocol violations by the 49ers, a source said. Those would include the members of the organization and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne not properly wearing face coverings, which could subject the team to a fine.
On Wednesday, Bourne tested positive for the virus, and left tackle Trent Williams and wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel also were placed on the COVID19 list after they were determined to be highrisk close contacts to Bourne.
NFL Network reported Thursday morning that Bourne was negative on his last test, which doesn’t mean he previously had a falsepositive test. This season, there have been 104 instances of a positive test being followed by a negative test, and it has been a positive in 101 of 104 instances with additional testing.
A player who tests positive for the virus and is asymptomatic needs to pass two coronavirus tests and could return as soon as five days after his initial positive test.
Inactive: Ahkello Witherspoon, who began the season as the 49ers’ No. 3 cornerback and was a parttime starter last year, was inactive despite not having an injury.
The 49ers dressed five cornerbacks: Jason Verrett, Emmanuel Moseley, K’Waun Williams, Jamar Taylor and Ken Webster.