Dee Ford is finally feeling healthy. Well, he's feeling as healthy as any NFL player can while playing such a physically demanding sport. Ford has been resting for nearly a month since receiving platelet-rich plasma injections in his knee to deal with some chronic tendinitis which has plagued him throughout is pro and college careers.
Ford returned to practice this week and has fresh legs, which is exactly what the San Francisco 49ers hoped for their new pass rusher. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have sounded confident that Ford will be in the lineup for the team's Week 1 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 1.
Ford is confident he can be a difference-maker in the regular-season opener on the road.
"You saw the Cleveland game, right?" Ford told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. "We'll have opportunities."
That Cleveland game he is referring to is last Friday's preseason matchup between the Browns and Buccaneers that saw Cleveland defenders rack up five sacks in the first half. Ford is salivating at the chance to see what he can do in Tampa, Florida.
RELATED Nick Bosa is healing at a 'really good rate' with Week 1 in play, says 49ers GM John Lynch
The 49ers decided to rest Ford now and deal with the reoccurring injury rather than face the possibility of it becoming an issue during the regular season.
"Dee is doing great," Lynch said on KNBR Wednesday morning. "I'm real happy with that. We addressed something that really he had been dealing with for some time, going back to his Kansas City days, even into college, he'll tell you.
"I think we were able to — a chronic condition above his knee where he had some tendinitis, and it was just, 'Let's not take this into the regular season. Let's get Dee Ford at 100 percent or as close as we can to that,' and I can tell you it's worked.
"He's looked tremendous out here the last couple of days. Barring anything else, Dee will be out there Week 1, and ready to go."
Ford is confident that the 49ers' decision to treat his tendinitis now will allow him to play pain-free during the upcoming season.
"We never really spent the time in my past to get the issue gone," Ford said. "And that was a little bit on my end — I like to play through things. I played through it. But now we just don't want it to be a hindrance so we can really get after the quarterback."
The 49ers traded for Ford on March 12, giving up a second-round draft pick in 2020 to the Kansas City Chiefs. He signed a five-year deal worth up to $87.5 million ($85 million base value) upon landing on San Francisco's roster.
Ford recorded 13 sacks, 55 combined tackles, and seven forced fumbles last year with the Chiefs — all career-highs.