49ers notebook: Optimism surrounds Ford, Tartt; Saleh to interview for Browns job
The 49ers have been banged up, but they came out of Sunday night’s thrilling victory over the Seattle Seahawks with no new injuries that are expected to cause players to miss time.
Additionally, the team is hopeful pass rusher Dee Ford (hamstring) and strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (fractured rib) could return for the Divisional Round of the playoffs following the upcoming bye.
“I’m hoping for it and I am feeling optimistic about it,” Kyle Shanahan said on a conference call Monday. “You never know with how those things go with the ribs and with the hamstring, but that was the goal. We knew there could be a slight chance this week if we were playing this week, so getting this bye week should make it an even better chance then.”
San Francisco’s pass rush has been noticeably slowed during the second half of the season as injuries have piled up and the competition has improved. The team finished the regular season fifth in the league with 48 sacks after being among the top two for the majority of the year, which coincided with Ford’s injury as he missed five of the final six weeks with his hamstring strain.
Tartt, meanwhile, had been one of San Francisco’s slew of steady defenders throughout the season. His value became apparent while his replacement, Marcell Harris, made glaring mistakes in his absence. Harris dropped a potential game-sealing interception last week against the Rams and had a crucial pass interference penalty near the goal line during Sunday night’s win. He was also picked on in coverage during the shootout victory over the Saints earlier this month.
Tartt returned to practice last week in a blue noncontact jersey while Ford hasn’t practiced since aggravating his injury in New Orleans just four snaps into the game.
The injuries to Ford and Tartt underscore the importance of winning in Seattle and landing the top seed in the NFC. Had San Francisco lost, the 49ers would have been forced to play 14 straight weeks because their regular season bye was Week 4 in late September, which is unusually early in the season.
Shanahan gave the players Monday off and plans on having practices Thursday, Friday and next Monday before gearing up for the team’s first postseason game at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers will play either the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles or Seahawks on Saturday, Jan. 11.
This week will be about keeping players fresh while also stay in tune mentally.
“Our bye week was, I think, three months ago, so it’s been awhile,” Shanahan said. “We’ve got guys like Emmanuel (Sanders) who didn’t even get a bye week because they hadn’t had theirs yet in Denver and when he came here, we already had ours. He’s going on 17-straight games with no bye week.
“I really want the guys to rest and get away a little bit, but it’s not like your typical bye week where I don’t picture anyone leaving anywhere or anything like that. We’re going to be in and out of the office. We’ve got to keep the bodies kind of in the routine that we’re used to right now. But, at the same time, we need some well-needed rest. We’ve got to get our energy and be as strong as we can for two weeks from now, which is great. But, we’ve also got to keep making sure that we keep our rhythm going and we get locked into football and never not thinking about it.”
Meanwhile, linebacker Kwon Alexander is making his case to return off injured reserve after tearing a pectoral muscle on Halloween in Arizona. He’s been working out regularly at the team’s facility and had an extensive session on the field before Sunday’s game. Shanahan said there’s a chance he returns at some point in January.
“He’s coming along. There’s definitely going to be a chance (he comes back),” said Shanahan. “I don’t think that will be this week, but if we’re fortunate enough to win our first game, I think he could have a chance after that. We’re still holding out hope for that, but we’ll see how it goes over these next couple weeks.”
Alexander’s replacement, Dre Greenlaw, made one of the plays of the year for San Francisco on Sunday when he stopped tight end Jacob Hollister inches short of the end zone on a fourth-down completion with 9 seconds remaining, which helped give the 49ers the bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Saleh to interview for Browns head coaching job
Shanahan confirmed 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has been given permission to interview for the Cleveland Browns head coaching vacancy that opened over the weekend when the team fired Freddie Kitchens after a disappointing 6-10 campaign.
Shanahan is familiar with the interview process as a coordinator while preparing a team for the playoffs. He went through a similar situation in 2017 as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. That team also had a bye, which allowed him to interview with clubs while not cutting into his preparation for the postseason.
“It’s kind of two different worlds,” Shanahan said. “You’ve got to dedicate some time to that and the rest of your time is doing whatever you can to win the playoff games. It’s actually a perfect situation for Saleh like it was for me because I was fortunate to have the bye week, also.
“When you have a bye week, we’re going to get a couple days off at the end of this week. That’s the only thing that stinks for Saleh because he won’t get those days off because he’ll be preparing for an interview one day and then probably doing the interview the next day.”
Shanahan said the Browns will travel to the Bay Area to interview Saleh later this week.
▪ There’s one starting position that may be in flux heading into the playoffs: left cornerback opposite Richard Sherman.
Ahkello Witherspoon, who got off to a stellar start of the season before sustaining a foot injury Week 3, was benched late in the fourth quarter after struggling Sunday in favor of Emmanuel Moseley, who played well in Witherspoon’s place earlier this season.
Shanahan said the team will spend time leading into the Divisional Round to decide which player to start.
“I haven’t had a chance to really think about that. It’s two weeks away from now, so we’ll see how practice goes,” Shanahan said. “Regardless of what happens, I know we’ve got two guys who can both help us win.”
