49ers Beat: Dee Ford takes significant step in recovery.
Dee Ford was excited Monday about participating in his first full practice in nearly 11 months.
That was obvious because the 49ers’ Pro Bowl pass rusher appeared in just six plays during team drills and jumped offsides on two snaps.
The big news, of course, wasn’t Ford’s penalties, but the fact that he was able to take the next step in his recovery from a serious back injury less than a week into training camp. Ford, 30, who participated only in individual drills during the first four practices, missed the final 15 games last season with an unspecified upper back injury.
“It was nice,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I didn’t realize he was out there. I was looking downfield, but I felt him off the edge go right by me.”
Ford is being eased back into action slowly, but he showed no signs of his injury Monday. On one snap, Ford got low as he tried to beat right tackle Mike McGlinchey with a speed rush and McGlinchey stopped him with a hard shove in Ford’s back.
Meanwhile, another prominent defensive lineman who had been limited, Javon Kinlaw, also made his debut in team drills. Kinlaw, the No. 14 pick in 2020, had been limited to individual drills because of knee swelling, Shanahan said last week. Kinlaw posted a
message, via an Instagram story, on Thursday: “I have no injury.” Kinlaw was asked about his message and being limited early in camp. He played about 10 snaps in team drills Monday.
“It’s just a plan,” Kinlaw said. “There’s a plan and a method for everything. I’m just following the protocol. Today, I was kind of antsy to get out there. Didn’t really expect to have (the limited amount) of reps that I
had today. But like I said, it’s a plan. I just took it and ran with it. Whatever I got today I tried to do the best I could out there. But I’m all good. The knee feels excellent.”
QB update: Shanahan said nothing has changed in the quarterback hierarchy. That is, Jimmy Garoppolo remains the unquestioned starter and rookie Trey Lance is his backup. Lance, the third overall pick
in the draft, showcased his running ability for the first time in camp Saturday on a series of designed runs and scrambles.
“I thought Trey had one of his better days on Saturday,” Shanahan said. “But that was nothing to move him up there to start talking differently with Jimmy or anything like that.”
Shanahan hasn’t dismissed the idea that Lance could start in Week 1. However, Shanahan has said Lance clearly would have to outperform Garoppolo.
“I think that would be pretty tough to do, so I’m not trying to put that pressure on Trey,” Shanahan said. “But, I mean, anybody can pull stuff off. … Jimmy has played too good of football. He is too good of a player and Trey’s trying to learn everything right now and soak it all in. So that’s why I’d be very surprised if he was able to do that.”
Injury report: Shanahan said the 49ers were “pretty optimistic” that inside linebacker Azeez AlShaair didn’t suffer a serious knee injury after a redzone period was cut short after he went down and was examined by trainers for several minutes. AlShaair walked off the field slowly without assistance.
Wide receiver Jalen Hurd (knee) returned to individual drills after he missed the two practices that preceded the 49ers’ day off Sunday. Shanahan said that wasn’t an indication Hurd had suffered a setback in his return from a torn ACL.
“We’re trying to ease him in,” Shanahan said. “We do have a plan to try to get him into team drills coming up here soon. Hopefully, he’ll stay on track and be able to do that.”