The San Francisco 49ers hope to have Dee Ford out on the field when the team takes on the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. The veteran pass rusher is attempting to return from a hamstring injury that kept him inactive for the 49ers' final three games of the regular season and two games before that.
General manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Friday morning and shared that Ford will be a game-time decision, despite the defender having practiced (limited) all week.
"I just think we're trying to be very diligent and very smart, judicious in the way we approach this," Lynch said on the Murph and Mac show. "Hamstrings can be so tricky."
Ford initially suffered the injury during a Week 11 contest against the Arizona Cardinals and then tweaked the hamstring after four plays in Week 14 against the New Orleans Saints after feeling tight in pre-game warmups. That's the last time 49ers fans saw Ford on the field.
"I think this will be a true game-time decision," Lynch continued. "How's he feeling right before the game? And the great thing about Dee, we don't need him for 50 plays. This is a guy who can play in critical downs, and the numbers speak to it. When he's out there, we're different. So it would be great to have him, but the numbers also say when he's not there, we've been very good."
Ford recorded 14 tackles, 6.5 sacks, a pass defensed, and two forced fumbles in the 49ers' first 11 games of the season before the initial injury."
"We're comfortable playing it however," Lynch added. "We sure hope we have him."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.