49ers: ‘No timetable’ for Dee Ford’s return, will miss Week 3
By Justin Fried
San Francisco 49ers’ defensive end Dee Ford will miss Week 3 with no timetable for his return.
The San Francisco 49ers continue to be hit with an unparalleled string of injury misfortune. And the latest update regarding Dee Ford certainly doesn’t garner much optimism.
Ford missed Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the New York Jets with what was initially described as neck spasms. The veteran defensive end was held out of practice last week after he showed up with a neck issue.
Up until Saturday, Ford was considered questionable for the game, but the 49ers opted to downgrade him to out around 24 hours before kickoff. As a result, his goal of playing in all 16 games was ended by just the second week of the season.
The hope was that Ford would just miss the one game, especially considering he was going to be a game-time decision just 24 hours before kickoff. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday that Ford was expected to miss next Sunday’s game against the New York Giants with what is now being described as a back injury.
Pelissero indicated that there is “no clear timetable for his return,” but that he will almost certainly miss Week 3. “The hope is Ford’s back injury settles down, but it may take some time,” Pelissero added.
No matter how you look at the situation, this isn’t ideal.
Dee Ford’s injury is just another blow to the 49ers’ defensive line depth.
Ford has dealt with injury concerns since joining the 49ers and despite a goal of playing a fully-healthy season, those injury issues have followed him into the 2020 season.
With Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas already declared out for the season with torn ACLs, the 49ers’ defensive line has been almost completely wiped out within a matter of weeks.
The 49ers signed free-agent Ezekiel Ansah who will likely play a significant role given all the injuries. The same goes for Kerry Hyder, although he also exited Sunday’s game early with an injury
Provided Hyder is good to go for Week 3, he will likely step up and start at defensive end again. Don’t rule out the team promoting the likes of Dion Jordan and/or Darrion Daniels from the practice squad either.
Next. 49ers sign free-agent Ezekiel Ansah to bolster defensive line depth. dark
Ford will be out for at least another week. And given the state of the 49ers’ defensive line, his setback couldn’t have come at a worse time.