Tackling some of the most pressing questions facing the 49ers before Week 1.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has recently pulled out a go-to answer when asked whether Jimmy Garoppolo or rookie Trey Lance will start at quarterback when the 49ers open the season at Detroit next weekend.
“I bet you guys can figure it out,” Shanahan said Wednesday, offering his latest variation of the same response.
Shanahan’s non-answer means — we all think — that Garoppolo will start on Sept. 12, a seemingly safe assumption given Lance had an uneven preseason and is now nursing a minor finger injury.
But what about the questions that don’t have such obvious answers entering Week 1? Here are the most pressing.
How much will Nick Bosa play?
The 49ers will open the season 357 days after the Pro Bowl defensive end tore his ACL and suffered cartilage damage in his left knee. Bosa didn’t play in the preseason and didn’t return to some form of a full practice until he first participated in team drills Aug. 25. And Bosa only played about 10 snaps in his first two 11-on-11 sessions before the 49ers’ full practices were closed to the media.
Still, Shanahan said on KNBR on Thursday that he’s expecting to see “a lot” of Bosa against the Lions.
“His first year here he didn’t play in any preseason games either,” Shanahan said of the 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year. “And I thought he did pretty good as a rookie.”
In 2019, Bosa suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp, barely practiced before the season opener and still set the tone for his sensational debut season by terrorizing Tampa Bay in Week 1 — and then limping off the field at Raymond James Stadium.
Two years later, however, Bosa is returning from a far more serious injury. When playing on a bum
ankle, players certainly have a fear they could jeopardize their season by aggravating it. When playing on a surgically repaired knee, there’s a fear they could jeopardize their career if it’s reinjured.
They overcome that fear, of course, by trusting that their knee is healed. And that belief often doesn’t arrive until their knee is stressed and hit during a game.
“You won’t really know how it responds until you take a real rep and have a big offensive lineman pushing on you and all of that stuff,” Bosa said in late July.
Bosa’s chiseled physique and disruptiveness last month during his first snaps back in team drills suggest he could play a lot against the Lions. But his mind might determine how soon he resembles the 2019 version of himself.
How much will Dee Ford play?
When asked at the start of training camp about the Pro Bowl pass rusher’s ability to return from his third serious back injury, general manager John Lynch used “cautiously” twice and “cautious” once in his response.
“You always have to advance it along,” Lynch said, “and see how he does.”
Ford, 30, did far better than expected. After missing the final 15 games last year, and rehabbing through the offseason without a major breakthrough, Ford returned to team drills early in training camp. And his subsequent performance this summer has Lynch striking a far different tone.
“I think the most encouraging thing is there were times
throughout last year and throughout this offseason where it was really unclear: Are we going to have (Ford) or not?” Lynch said Wednesday on KNBR. “The greatest news to me is, yeah, we are going to have him — and not just like a watered-down version of him. He has looked like the Dee Ford we went out and traded for. And, man, if we can carry that into the season — if he can bring that — watch out.”
Yes, there is still an “if.” The 49ers kept Ford on a limited snap count throughout camp and he didn’t play in a preseason game. It would make sense to open the season by giving him 15 to 20 snaps in pass-rushing situations.
And the presence of defensive end Samson Ebukam, who was signed to a two-year, $12 million deal in March, means the 49ers could keep Ford in a situational role in 2021.
Who will start at strong safety?
It appears it will be incumbent Jaquiski Tartt. At
least for Week 1.
Tartt was sidelined for nine months with a turf toe injury that required surgery, but he has looked spry since his unexpected return to practice Aug. 25. The 49ers gave Tartt 29 snaps in Sunday’s preseason finale and he emerged unscathed, participating in both practices this week.
If Tartt has a setback or another injury — he has missed 28 games since 2017 — the 49ers likely will insert rookie Talanoa Hufanga instead of nine-year veteran Tavon Wilson. Hufanga was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, but slipped to the fifth round because of so-so speed and an extensive injury history.
He’s entering the season after an impressive summer.
Who will return punts?
Answer: Mohamed Sanu, Brandon Aiyuk or Travis Benjamin.
The most enticing option is Aiyuk, who was a dynamic punt returner at Arizona State, but he’s also the de facto No. 1 wide receiver and the 49ers aren’t eager to increase his injury risk. Aiyuk didn’t practice this week with a hamstring strain after missing games last year as a rookie with hamstring and ankle injuries.
Benjamin, 31, who is in the concussion protocol, is easily their most accomplished returner: He is tied for first among active players in puntreturn touchdowns (four) and ranks second in yards per return (10.9). However, Benjamin is also on the practice squad because he wasn’t viewed as one of the 49ers’ top six wide receivers. Would the 49ers promote him to the active roster if he doesn’t offer much offensively?
The favorite might be Sanu, 31, who isn’t scintillating in that role, but has been surehanded in his few opportunities. He has averaged 5.6 yards on his 10 career returns, which all came in 2019, and hasn’t had a fumble.