Reed has knee sprain; Ford might go on IR
The 49ers might be without two former Pro Bowl players for the foreseeable future.
On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said tight end Jordan Reed suffered a sprained medical collateral ligament in his left knee in Sunday’s win against the Giants and will be sidelined for at least six weeks. In addition, Shanahan said the team would decide in the “next few days” whether to also place pass rusher Dee Ford (back) on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least three more games.
Reed, 30, has been productive when available during his eightyear career, but has missed 47 of 115 games because of concussions and injuries to his hamstring, shoulder, chest and toe. On Sunday, he initially was sidelined after turning his ankle late in the first quarter. He returned and injured his knee on the same leg in the second quarter.
Reed, a Pro Bowl selection in 2016 who has had four 50catch seasons, had seven catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns in a win against the Jets on Sept. 20. He has a teamhigh 11 catches.
“I thought he was one of the best players on the field in the second game,” Shanahan said. “And he was coming out strong” Sunday.
Ford, 29, has missed the past two games with an unspecified back injury. The 2018 Pro Bowler played just 22% of the snaps last year because of knee tendinitis and a hamstring injury.
Medical updates: Shanahan said quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle) has a chance to return to practice this week for the first time since he was injured Sept. 20.
“I know he's doing a lot better now than he did last week, but I’m still not sure about Wednesday,” Shanahan said. “I know he needs these two days to keep rehabbing, and we’ll evaluate it then.”
Shanahan also said more would be known about the availability of tight end George Kittle (knee), running back Raheem Mostert (knee) and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) for Sunday’s game against the Eagles after Tuesday’s day off for players.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel will make his practice debut Wednesday after he suffered a broken foot in midJune. However, Shanahan indicated Samuel might not play Sunday against Philadelphia.
“I know he's feeling good, but Wednesday will be his first time in a football practice since Super Bowl week of last year,” Shanahan said. “So we’ve got to take that into account.”
In other injury news, Shanahan said linebacker Mark Nzeocha (quadriceps) would likely be placed on injured reserve and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (thigh) isn’t expected to play against the Eagles. Running back Jerick McKinnon (rib contusion) is daytoday and cornerback K’Waun Williams has hip discomfort the 49ers are looking into, Shanahan said.
Job in jeopardy: Long snapper Kyle Nelson, who has played more games with the 49ers than any other player on the roster, might have played his last game for the franchise.
Shanahan said the team would work out long snappers on Tuesday to possibly replace Nelson, 33, after the ninthyear veteran was benched after a disastrous performance against the Giants on Sunday.
“He understands it’s a business,” Shanahan said. “He understands how the league works. And we're going to bring in some guys tomorrow. Work them out. See how they look. And we’ll decide what’s best for us going forward.”
Nelson had several wayward snaps Sunday and Shanahan said Nelson had developed the yips, suggesting his issues weren’t injuryrelated. Nelson stood by himself at times during the second half, appearing to bend in anguish at one point.