San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw is on track to be activated from injured reserve after having his practice window opened last week. Head coach Kyle Shanahan hopes Greenlaw and defensive end Dee Ford can be activated in time for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. That's the plan, for now.
Ford did not practice during Wednesday's session but is expected to do so on Thursday. He's been on injured reserve since November 6 due to a back injury. Greenlaw underwent core muscle surgery and has been on injured reserve since September 18.
"Greenlaw did a good job out there today," Shanahan said during KNBR's Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "He'll go meet with the trainers now and tell them how it felt and stuff. Dee, we don't want to put him [out there] three days in a row, just because of how he's been since he's been here. So, we're waiting until tomorrow to start to practice him.
"So, tomorrow's a big practice. I know he's feeling great, from what he said, so he's just got to go out there and show it to us. Hopefully, we'll have both of them up on Sunday."
The potential reinforcements on defense mean the team is starting to have better luck getting healthy. Having won three of the last four games, the 5-5 49ers might be ramping up for a run at a playoff berth.
"The league's hard," Shanahan said. "And when you're missing a couple of your best guys, it doesn't mean you have no chance to win at all, but it affects a couple of plays in that game. And you never know what plays it's going to affect and what road it can send your team down.
"The more good guys you have out there—and it's not just being out there. It's them playing at the top of their game. I know [our] guys have been battling throughout the year to try to stay healthy and get out there consistently, and I feel they're starting to get back to who they are, and that gives them a chance to get better."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.