New San Francisco 49ers pass rusher Dee Ford left practice on July 30 dealing with a quad issue. He also told Bay Area News Group that he also routinely battles knee tendinitis. That is an issue during this training camp, too.
Ford has not practiced since, and head coach Kyle Shanahan informed reporters after Sunday's practice that the defender is unlikely to do so for at least another week.
Ford recently received platelet-rich plasma injections in his knee, and it likely just happened because Shanahan looked over to another 49ers staff member for confirmation that the defender had already undergone the procedure.
"I think that will be some time (before he returns to practice)," Shanahan told reporters. "I know we're looking at it day to day, but that usually takes at least a week. But it's something that I think will end up helping him.
"He could have toughed it out and stuff, and gotten through it like a lot of guys try to do because guys are trying to make the team, and they're trying to get better, but we feel good about where Dee Ford is at. We wanted to make sure we took care of that so he'll be fresh going into the year."
A reporter asked Shanahan if they knew about Ford's history dealing with knee tendinitis before trading for him in March.
"You hear about wear and tear on guys," Shanahan responded. "I mean, you get every medical report that they ever had from their trainers and stuff, and that's been on the list and everything. So you hear about all that.
"And we have a number of guys with stuff like that. (Joe) Staley's gone through stuff like that, and usually, you've got to do something, like we did, once in the year, and we thought it would be better to do it sooner rather than later."
In an effort to improve the team's pass rush, the 49ers sent a second-round draft pick in 2020 in exchange for Ford. The defender registered 55 combined tackles, a career-high 13 sacks, and seven forced fumbles through 16 starts with the Chiefs in 2018.
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