Somewhat surprisingly, defensive end Dee Ford's name appeared on today's list of San Francisco 49ers roster moves. I say "somewhat" not because Ford has had ongoing back issues and this should have been expected but because one team executive suggested that the 49ers were looking at options for the veteran pass rusher.
San Francisco placed Ford on injured reserve, meaning the player must miss at least three games, starting with this weekend's matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. He will be eligible to return for Week 12's home game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Ford appeared on Thursday's practice participation report with the back injury. He had missed the team's Week 8 matchup against the Chicago Bears because of a concussion and has not appeared on an injury report due to his ongoing back problems since the week leading to the season opener.
This week, general manager John Lynch said the two injuries were not mutually exclusive.
"Dee has back issues," Lynch said on Thursday during his regular KNBR interview. "Whenever you deal with someone, baseball, football, life, and the have back issues, they can flare up from time to time. Even when he was on the concussion protocol [last week], yeah, he was in the protocol, so that is what it is. Some of that, there was a play versus Indy where he kind of fell, and it kind of lit up some of his back issues, and some of those presented as concussion-type stuff. It's kind of one and the same.
"So really, not a new issue. Kind of an ongoing issue with him, and we're trying to work through that, see if we have him this week, and make some decisions moving forward. But Dee is a difference-maker when he's out there. The challenge has been having him out there."
The next day, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Ford's back injury, which could plague the defender for the remainder of his playing days.
"Yes, that's never fully gone away," Shanahan told reporters on Friday. "That's something he'll deal with most likely forever. So something that's on again, off again. The reason it's mentioned for the first time is we think it came up with this concussion. Some of the symptoms presented as a concussion [in Week 7] with the hit he took, but it acted up some stuff in the back that has been bothering him this week."
The 49ers acquired Ford via a trade from the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. The pass rusher has recorded five tackles, two tackles for a loss, four quarterback hits, three sacks, and a pass defensed in a limited role through six games this season, per Pro Football Reference.
