49ers notebook: Joe Staley looking for redemption against Jadeveon Clowney
Joe Staley admitted he may have returned from his fractured left fibula too early when he came back for the Monday night game against the Seahawks in November.
The results indicated as much.
The 49ers left tackle allowed Seahawks star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to have his best game since joining Seattle in a Sept. 1 trade from Houston. Clowney recorded a sack, five tackles, five quarterback hits, a forced fumble and fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown in the 27-24 overtime win that included the Seahawks scoring 21 points off 49ers turnovers.
Clowney after missing the past two games vowed to return this week for Sunday night’s pivotal showdown to determine the NFC West title and which team gets a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Staley is expecting to be a far better version of himself than he was in November.
“It was a bad game,” Staley said Thursday. “He got the best of me, but the good thing about the NFL is that you have other games to play.”
Staley required surgery to repair a broken and dislocated finger after that game that caused him to miss the following three games. Since then, he’s appeared in three straight while getting three consecutive weeks of normal practice. The six-time Pro Bowler had just two practices under his belt leading into his return from the leg injury sustained Week 2 in Cincinnati.
“This probably the best I’ve felt all season right now,” Staley said. “It’s been nice the way the season worked out. Obviously, I would have wanted to play the whole entire season. But I’m getting back into it. Those first couple games were going to be rough coming back in just because you’re rusty. But I feel good, body feels ready and ready to go.”
Staley said the issue in his return from the injury wasn’t the broken bone itself. It was his atrophied muscles in his left leg that led to other muscles over compensating. The silver lining from the finger injury was it allowed him three more weeks for his leg and other muscles to recover.
“My back was really messed up for a couple weeks there when I came back,” Staley said. “So it’s just kind of getting everything back in alignment and used to playing football again. I don’t bounce back as fast as I once did. I got to make sure I stay on top of it and all that stuff. So that’s why I’m excited right now because this is the best of I’ve felt all season.”
Clowney has missed three of five games since that Seahawks win over the 49ers that gave them the early tie breaker in the standings. A win for the 49ers Sunday night would give them the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
The Seahawks would likely be the No. 2 seed if they beat San Francisco to win the division.
Dee Ford misses practice, unlikely to play
Defensive end Dee Ford appears likely to miss his fifth game in six weeks with his ongoing hamstring issue. He might be the key 49er who most needs a bye to open the playoffs as he hasn’t practiced since aggravating the injury early in his return against the Saints earlier this month.
Otherwise, San Francisco appears relatively healthy heading into Sunday’s regular season finale. Safety Jaquiski Tartt was limited in the first two practices this week, his first since fracturing the rib while tackling Ravens running back Mark Ingram Dec. 1. He wore a blue noncontact jersey and seems likely to be a game-time decision depending on his pain threshold.
Receiver Deebo Samuel was also in a blue jersey while dealing with a shoulder issue. Samuel is likely to play Sunday as he dealt with the shoulder issue heading into last month’s win over the Packers.
▪ San Francisco’s injury report Thursday was unchanged from the estimated report, which came out Wednesday as the team didn’t practice on Christmas.
Defensive tackle Jullian Taylor, who was listed as a full-go Wednesday while returning from an elbow injury, was listed as limited Thursday after receiving treatment for a knee injury. The severity is unknown. A healthy Taylor would likely see a significant number of snaps on Sunday after the 49ers lost their top nose tackle, D.J. Jones, earlier this month with a high ankle sprain.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh didn’t sound concerned about Taylor’s status when asked how his potential return would impact the defensive line.
“It could help a lot just to have that bigger body in there to take on some of those double teams,” Saleh said. “This is a very big offensive line and to give some of those interior guys when you look at (DeForest Buckner) Buck and Sheldon (Day) and all those guys, just the overall rotation to keep those guys fresh. We’re pumped to get him back.”
▪ Right guard Mike Person was also limited with a neck injury that caused him to miss last week’s game against the Rams. Person was back at practice Tuesday and Thursday this week and appeared more mobile that he did previously. He could be trending toward returning to the lineup after being replaced by Daniel Brunskill in the win over L.A.