49ers notebook: Dee Ford misses practice, Witherspoon returns; woes stopping Murray explained

In a week where the 49ers surprisingly lost their top cornerback Richard Sherman to a calf injury for at least the next three games, there was more potentially concerning news on Thursday when defensive end Dee Ford missed practice because of a neck injury, the team said in the daily practice report.

Ford’s status for Sunday’s road game against the New York Jets remains unclear, though defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said, “From my understanding, there’s no concern.” Saleh refrained from answering questions about Ford’s status, deferring to head coach Kyle Shanahan, who will speak with reporters next on Friday.

Ford played 46 snaps against the Cardinals on Sunday (56 percent) and was credited with three tackles. Scouting service Pro Football Focus said Ford managed one hurry of Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray. That came after Ford missed roughly two weeks during training camp with a calf injury the team feared might bother his Achilles if he didn’t take time off.

“So at the end of the day we had to jump on it because our goal, and especially my goal, which is the team’s goal, is to be there 16 games plus postseason. And I’m not gonna waiver on that at all,” Ford said leading into last week’s game.

Ford was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and wasn’t listed on the injury report, which is why Thursday’s absence could be a red flag. If he can’t play against New York, the 49ers would likely tap Kerry Hyder, who had a sack Sunday, for a more expansive role and perhaps try Solomon Thomas more on the edge after playing mostly on the inside against the Cardinals. It could also call for Kentavius Street to make his 2020 debut after being inactive last week following his strong training camp.

The good news coming out of Thursday was the return to practice for cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.

Witherspoon was out there in a blue none-contact jersey after sustaining a head injury at some point during the loss to Arizona. He would likely start in place of Richard Sherman against the Jets if he continues to progress through the concussion protocol that caused him to miss practice Wednesday.

There was still no sign of fellow cornerback Jason Verrett, who continues to deal with a hamstring injury suffered late in training camp that caused him to miss Week 1. It’s likely the 49ers have Dontae Johnson and Ken Webster active on Sunday against New York after both were added to the roster this week. Johnson was promoted from the practice squad for the second straight game and Webster was signed on Wednesday off the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad when Sherman was placed on injured reserve.

Meanwhile, tight end George Kittle (left knee sprain) and receiver Richie James Jr. (hamstring) missed practice for a second straight day. Kittle was in the weight room during the early portion of practice open to reporters while James was doing conditioning drills on the side. James appears unlikely to play Sunday, though Kittle still has a chance, as Shanahan said earlier this week.

For the Jets, top receiver Jamison Crowder missed practice with a hamstring injury and is uncertain to play Sunday. He would be a sizable loss for team that’s already without top running back Le’Veon Bell and rookie receiver Denzel Mims, who are both on injured reserve with hamstring injuries.

What wrong defending Murray?

Saleh spoke to the media Thursday for the first time since Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray led a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns drives, dealing San Francisco an upset loss in Week 1.

Murray finished with 91 rushing yards (though he had 100 before the final kneel downs) and torched Saleh’s defense when they failed to contain him on his scrambles. Saleh said the issues started with their defensive ends, who were doing all they could to win outside, which created lanes for Murray in between the offensive guards and tackles.

“You want to rush and capture a corner and try to get over the top with speed, but when you do that, you open up those B-gaps. You just think about it, there’s four pass rushers, you got five lanes you have to defend, so you’re always going to be a gap short,” Saleh said. “But Kyler’s a special, special player and he’s going to do that against a lot of people for a very long time. But we have to do a better job containing him and keeping him in the pocket, and it starts at the defensive end spot.”

The 49ers limited the Cardinals to just 10 points heading into the fourth quarter, seven of which came on a touchdown immediately following a blocked punt deep in San Francisco’s territory in the first half. The defense committed costly penalties, including a holding call against K’Waun Williams that negated a third-down stop, and two personal fouls for hitting Murray as he slid during runs.

“I think we started off well with our game plan,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “Our first 10 drives were as good as pretty much you can do against those guys. Then, once the tempo got going, a few stupid plays, a few mistakes, a few penalties, and they get the tempo going and you’re tired, you can’t get off the field, and then it turns into their type of game. That’s not what you want against the Cardinals because if they can play their type of football, they’re really tough to beat. They’re kind of like the Ravens in the sense that when you play them, you have to change what you do to stop what they do.”

Kinlaw earns positive reviews, just don’t tell him that

Javon Kinlaw’s numbers didn’t jump off the box score from his NFL debut on Sunday. But the rookie defensive tackle had a few impressive plays despite being credited with just one assisted tackle.

“There aren’t many humans who can do what he did,” Saleh said of the recent 14th overall pick. “He had two fantastic pass rushes. The quarterback, obviously, got rid of the ball pretty quick, so it goes unnoticed but he won it clean. So we’re very excited for him.”

Kinlaw has been a difficult scout to please when it comes to his own play. He spoke early in training camp about not playing anywhere near his standard, and echoed that sentiment on Thursday when asked how he thought he performed in his first game as a pro.

“My performance Week 1 was very below average, to me,” he said.

But what about the progress he made from early in training camp, when left guard Laken Tomlinson seemingly won the vast majority of their one-on-one battles? Is Kinlaw any closer to the level he wants to get to?

“Not even close,” he said. “I’ll probably never get there my whole career. That’s just how I am on myself.”

Kinlaw, who was homeless during periods of his upbringing in the Washington D.C., area was asked how he deals with adversity and gave another frank answer.

“Go punch it in the face,” he said. “That’s how I deal with the adversity. Go punch it straight in the mouth.”