Photo credit: 49ers
The 2020 preseason is both too short and too long for the 49ers. There are two positions in which their injury woes seem to be unrelenting, and a third position is coming into view as a concern, too. That’s at wide receiver, center and now defensive end.
San Francisco was already down Deebo Samuel, Richie James Jr. and Jalen Hurd at wide receiver, and Weston Richburg, Ben Garland and Spencer Long at center, with Ronald Blair III still rehabbing at defensive end.
Sunday saw three injuries for the team, all of which forced the players involved to be watch the remainder of, or be removed from practice.
The first was Dee Ford, who underwent an “extensive” clean-up in his right knee this offseason after being frequently sidelined with chronic knee/quad tendonitis. On Sunday, he faced Mike McGlinchey in a one-on-one rep in which he was pushed outside the pocket. Quickly, he pulled up, holding his left ankle/calf.
He lowered his sock and began trying to massage it and test it out for a long while and consulting trainers. He remained out for the rest of practice and was seen having an extended chat with head coach Kyle Shanahan. Ford looked like he may have wanted to continue practicing, but Shanahan, based on his gesticulations, was not going to allow that to happen. He watched the remainder of practice from the sideline and did not appear like he had issues putting weight on it, standing while he looked on.
Brandon Aiyuk was the second injury. He looked brilliant throughout practice, consistently finding himself open and at least providing lanes for throws. Roughly midway through the sets of 11-on-11s, Jimmy Garoppolo launched a deep pass to Aiyuk, who pulled up slow, immediately heading to sideline, and stretched with trainers. It appeared to be a hamstring injury. He did not return to practice and like Ford, remained on the sidelines watching. Unlike Ford, he was mostly sitting or kneeling.
Ross Reynolds sustained what appeared to be the most serious injury of practice. It was unclear what caused it, but Reynolds, playing at center, was left at the bottom of the pile. He remained down, and quickly, players cleared the field so he could be attended to. He was eventually carted off the field with Mike McGlinchey, then Trent Williams heading back onto the field first, then flanked by the rest of the offensive line, to help him onto the cart.
“Ross battles his ass off for us,” McGlinchey said after practice. “Unfortunate balance today with getting hit in the leg. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it looked.”
As of yet, there’s been no update from the team on any of the three players.
