49ers injury updates: Dee Ford, Dante Pettis to miss Baltimore Ravens game
The 49ers won’t have pass rusher Dee Ford (hamstring) or receiver Dante Pettis (knee sprain) for Sunday’s marquee game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Both players were officially ruled out Friday. Ford left the victory over the Cardinals two weeks ago after sacking Kyler Murray. Pettis will miss his first game of the season after injuring his knee on Wednesday. Pettis hasn’t caught a pass since scoring a touchdown Oct. 31 in Arizona.
The 49ers promoted defensive end Jeremiah Valoaga off the practice squad this week after Damontre Moore had season-ending surgery to repair a fractured forearm. And despite losing reserve Ronald Blair III and Moore, Kyle Shanahan is confident in the team’s depth up front.
“Bringing Jeremiah off the practice squad, he’s been with us all year and in training camp, so he’ll step up and do his role,” Shanahan said. “We had a lot of depth going in there and we also have guys who are pretty versatile with how they can play inside and outside in a pinch.”
On Pettis, Shanahan said the embattled second-year wideout is week to week.
“Just a non-contact drill. Him and a couple players got tangled up and just sprained his knee,” Shanahan said.
Left tackle Joe Staley (finger) and running back Matt Breida (ankle) were listed as questionable.
Without Ford, the 49ers will continue to rely heavily on Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead at defensive end against Baltimore’s formidable offense. The Ravens are coming off back-to-back wins over the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams by a combined score of 86-13.
San Francisco last week sacked Aaron Rodgers five times pushing their league-leading sack total to 44. They’ve had at least three sacks in eight straight games.
Bosa has eight sacks and is a favorite for defensive rookie of the year honors. He also received more Pro Bowl votes from fans than any other defensive player in the conference when tallies were first released earlier this month..
Shanahan on Friday was asked why Bosa has made such a quick transition to the NFL after getting with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
“Just watching him in college, he was as technically sound and seemed developed at his position as any college player I’d seen,” Shanahan said. “We used to joke about it, but it looked like his dad was taking him through pass rush drills at three and doing cone drills and things like that because he just was so efficient with his hands and his steps.
“I think a lot of guys in college just went off pure ability and then you get to the NFL and that might work the first time a tackle sees you, but then they adjust and you’ve got to learn how to rush a lot smarter and more efficiently. Bosa has some freakish ability, but he also has that skill set that he’s been working on his whole life.”
Staley could make his return from a two-game absence after having surgery to repair his right ring finger.
Staley fractured and dislocated the finger during the Nov. 11 loss to the Seahawks. Without a procedure, his finger may have been permanently bent at a 90-degree angle, so the decision was made by Shanahan to make sure Staley went under the knife. Staley also had extra time off of his fractured fibula, which clearly hindered him as he struggled against Seattle and pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
Staley was replaced by Justin Skule in the starting lineup over the past two weeks. But Skule was sent to the bench for Daniel Brunskill during the first half of the victory Sunday night over the Green Bay Packers. Brunskill played well and the offense began to click, scoring on five of its six possessions thereafter.
Breida also has a chance to return from an ankle injury that kept him from the past two games. He returned to practice this week as a limited participant and could have a big role Sunday in rotation with Tevin Coleman. Shanahan indicated keeping Breida sidelined was aimed at avoiding a situation like last year, when he dealt with nagging ankle issues throughout the season.
Robbie Gould was a full participant in practice all week after a three-game absence because of a quadriceps strain in his kicking leg. Shanahan has said a player at any other position likely would have played, but the team kept Gould on the shelf to avoid making it worse.
“I know Robbie wants to (play),” Shanahan said Monday. “But we’re going to be smart with that and we’re going to make sure that he is 100 percent and I think he’s getting very close to there.”
Gould wasn’t listed on the injury report and will reclaim his job over rookie Chase McLaughlin, who made 7 of 8 field goals during his three-game stint. His lone miss, of course, was a high-profile one. He shanked an overtime attempt against the Seahawks that proved critical in the loss. He also made a critical kick to send the game to overtime.
The other good news on the injury front: tight end George Kittle (knee, ankle), receivers Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and Emmanuel Sanders (ribs) and defensive lineman Jullian Taylor (jaw) weren’t listed on the injury report and are expected to play. All four were limited participants in Friday’s session.
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 2:06 PM.
