49ers open practice window for Kwon Alexander, hoping for playoff return

The San Francisco 49ers have opened the practice window for injured linebacker Kwon Alexander, who is attempting to work his way back from a torn pectoral muscle suffered on October 31 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Alexander landed on injured reserve on November 5 but practiced with his teammates for the first time on Thursday as the 49ers prepare for their first playoff game. Although, he did so while wearing a blue no-contact jersey.

San Francisco can bring back one more player from injured reserve and is hoping to do so with Alexander, should the team win its playoff game on Saturday, January 11.

"He's coming along," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters this week. "There's definitely going to be a chance (for a return). I don't think that will be this week, but if we're fortunate enough to win our first game, I think he could have a chance after that. We're still holding out hope for that, but we'll see how it goes over these next couple of weeks."

Alexander, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing with the 49ers on March 11, 2019, finished the regular season with 34 combined tackles, 0.5 sacks, four passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble through eight starts before the injury. He has never played in a playoff game.

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"Playoffs are hard to get to for anyone," Alexander recently told Matt Barrows of The Athletic. "I think anyone, if they had a chance to come back, they'd want to come back. Because I never played in the playoffs in all my life. So that's one of the big goals of mine. So I'm just working hard and trying to get there, man. I hope I'm going to get there, and they clear me — hopefully."