Dee Ford was among several San Francisco 49ers players who spoke with reporters via Zoom on Thursday. At the same time, general manager John Lynch was on KNBR discussing the team as it prepares for Week 1 on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
Ford fought through injuries last season and then suffered what was reported as a calf injury during training camp. The good news is that he has practiced all week, hasn't appeared on any injury reports and seems to be set to play this weekend.
Ford said he hopes to be more available this season.
"When you're dealing with a calf, you don't want to risk it getting to that Achilles tendon," Ford said of the most recent injury. "At the end of the day, we had to jump on it because our goal, and especially my goal, which is the team's goal, is to be there 16 games plus postseason. And I'm not going to waive on that at all. We just had to get that (injury) right."
Lynch described the injury a little differently, though.
"I know that Dee's come back with a different mindset," Lynch said on the Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "If you look at Dee's history, while there have been injuries, he played a couple of seasons of 900-plus snaps. That's his expectation. That's how he prepared himself.
"Unfortunately, he had a little Achilles tweak here late in camp. But the good news is he's back out there, and he's looked really, really -- I mean, you guys all know, when he's right, his get-off is second to none in this league, and that's what I'm seeing out here."
Ford added that he doesn't just want to play in every game this season; he seeks to play every defensive snap. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen.
"I think his expectation, his mindset is, 'I don't want to come off the field,'" Lynch continued. "That's a great mindset, but we like coming at people in waves, and with Arizona, you have to be prepared to do that. They like playing with tempo, so we want fresh guys out there."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
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