There is some good news concerning Dee Ford. As expected, the San Francisco 49ers defensive end returned to practice on Saturday after missing Thursday's and Friday's sessions. He is dealing with knee tendinitis, which could cause him discomfort throughout the season, and a quadriceps issue.
Ford practicing is a good sign that the pass rusher will play on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns.
Dee Ford is practicing today. Looks in line to play Monday, as expected. #49ers
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) October 5, 2019
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week that Ford missing practices this season could be a regular occurrence.
"Yeah, it definitely is something," Shanahan said on Thursday. "We hope that goes away. The stuff that we've done for him and stuff we've got to ease him back into it, which we are doing. Hopefully, he'll get out there, possibly tomorrow (Friday), more likely on [Saturday]."
The 49ers sent a second-round pick in next year's draft to the Kansas City Chiefs in March in exchange for Ford to bolster the team's pass rush. He has two sacks and a forced fumble through three games this season after racking up a career-high 13 sacks, 55 combined tackles, and seven forced fumbles last year with the Chiefs.
General manager John Lynch said this week that he remains hopeful that Ford can continue being a significant contributor this season.
"Dee's doing well," Lynch said via a KNBR interview on Thursday. "He really is. This bye came probably -- all our guys who weren't healthy were probably helped by it, but Dee Ford as much as anybody. We're very hopeful that he can come back and play at a high level. When he's been out there, he's been exactly what we thought he'd be.
"We've had to limit his snaps a little, and that's frustrating to Dee. And [being limited] is probably more from our part than him asking to come off. We're trying to get him through an entire season because when he is out there, he's so impactful for us."
