Dee Ford is still a little rusty but he’s confident in recovery from knee treatment
Pass rusher Dee Ford returned to the 49ers practice field this week, but there’s still plenty of work to do before the season opener Sept. 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I still got a lot of rust to knock off,” Ford said Tuesday. “(There’s) a whole other level to go to. And I’m excited, man.”
Ford had been sidelined since early August with knee tendinitis, a problem he’s dealt with in the past, that required platelet-rich plasma injections to expedite the healing process earlier this month.
Ford believes he could have played through the pain if necessary, but San Francisco wanted to be sure its new $85.5 million pass rusher would be 100 percent for the regular season rather than risk the pain lingering.
“It’s getting better,” Ford said. “We’re working out the kinks right now. First it’s the range of motion, now we’re just trying to get the strength back so we can roll for Week 1.”
Ford is coming off a season with the Kansas City Chiefs in which he played 1,022 snaps. He was a year removed from missing 10 games in 2017 due to back issues but rebounded to have the best season of his career. The Chiefs decided to part with Ford for a second-round draft pick despite posting 13 sacks and leading the NFL with seven forced fumbles. Kansas City was switching from a 3-4 defense in which Ford played outside linebacker to a more traditional 4-3.
Ford said he isn’t entirely pain-free, but noted he’s confidence in the 49ers’ plan with their revamped training staff to get him ready for Week 1.
“We’re doing the right things,” he said. “And it’s hard in this sport because it’s week to week, literally day to day, because practices are like games, so you need players (practicing), you need them going. So we never really spent the time in my past really trying to get the issue gone. I like to play through pain so I played through it last year. Now, we just don’t want it to be a hindrance so we can really get after the quarterback.”
Said defensive coordinator Robert Saleh: “He’s been good. He’s rehabbed. He’s very confident. He’s excited to get back with the guys so he’s been a very positive figure in the building. He hasn’t had any setbacks so he’s just been progressing and he’s excited to get out there.”
Despite Ford’s absence for most of training camp and the entire preseason, the 49ers are confident it won’t take Ford long to get back up to speed.
His role will be streamlined as a pass rusher off the edge and he’ll rarely be required to drop into coverage as often as he did with the Chiefs. (Saleh still asks defensive linemen to cover pass catchers occasionally, which was the case in Saturday’s preseason game in Kansas City when Solomon Thomas was beat by running back Damien Williams for a 62-yard touchdown).
“It’s very simple,” Ford said about his responsibilities. “Everything is technical, you get more visual reps, there’s not a lot that you need to think about. Playing outside backer really taught me a lot because I had to make a lot of checks, I had to see a lot of things. D-line is way different. So having the best of both worlds definitely makes this transition easier and it’s more visual for me now.”
The 49ers will have a better idea of Nick Bosa’s availability later this week as he continues to recover from an ankle sprain Aug. 7. It appears likely he could miss a game or two as the 49ers try to ensure he’s 100 percent for the long haul and not trying to play through pain.
Whether Bosa’s available or not, Ford is looking forward to the challenge of facing quarterback Jameis Winston and Tampa Bay’s new-look offense under new coach Bruce Arians.
“We’ll have opportunities,” Ford said. “... We’re heading into this game understanding that we need to be ready as far as ourselves, getting ourselves right. Opportunities we’ll be there.”