San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan says he is excited about the progress of two defenders returning from injuries—pass rushers Dee Ford and Nick Bosa. By Week 2 last season, both were permanently out of the lineup, and the defense missed their presence for the remainder of the year.
Ford, who is coming off neck and back injuries, has been practicing, and Shanahan is becoming more optimistic that the veteran will be available for the whole season. But, of course, the team is still being careful with Ford, limiting his reps in practice and trying to avoid any setbacks.
"These last few practices, he's getting more and more reps and playing at a high level," Shanahan said Thursday morning on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "And the key is to keep him going in football shape, so it's not about just getting to Week 1; it's about being able to help us throughout the year. He's looking great right now, and we've just got to find that balance with keeping his back and everything feeling good, keeping his explosiveness going, protecting him that way, but also making sure he's ready for Week 1."
Bosa is also on track to be ready for Week 1, and the 49ers coach is not concerned that the young defensive end hasn't had many practice reps yet.
"Bosa, he's healthy enough to go, but you've got to be smart with him," Shanahan said. "He's ahead of schedule. Any doctor you talk to, no matter how good you feel, the more time you get, the percentages of it getting stronger and stronger helps that much more, and that's where he's at.
"He looks great in individual. He looks great on the side. But we're still going to try to wait here probably a week, two more weeks before we put him up against our players."
Shanahan added that he wouldn't put an exact date on when that might happen. The coach knows that Bosa is the type of player who can prepare for game action even with limited practice.
"I'm not going to put an exact date on it, but it will hopefully be around the Oakland week, and things like that, and give him a chance to get a week of practice," Shanahan said. "We'll have a week off. Then we'll have a week to prepare for Detroit."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.