Kyle Shanahan didn't want to say that defensive end Dee Ford suffered a setback in his return from injured reserve. The veteran pass rusher's back issues have plagued the defender all season and may continue to hinder him.
"That just comes and goes," Shanahan told reporters after Friday's practice. "That's kind of how it's been. So that's why you're never quite sure. Thats' why he wasn't able to go later in this week, and most likely won't go on Sunday. We'll see how he is tomorrow, though, because that changes."
The 49ers opened the practice window for Ford last week, on Thanksgiving, with the hope that the pass rusher could play this past weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. He wasn't activated off injured reserve, though, and it sounds like he won't be activated before this weekend's game against the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers hoped to have Maurice Hurst available this weekend, but the defensive tackle suffered a setback in his recovery from a pretty severe calf injury.
"He had a little setback yesterday, which we still don't know the severity of it," Shanahan shared. "But he definitely couldn't go today. ... Calves are just so tricky, how long they can take. He's been showing real good recovery, and how he'd been coming along. Got some reps in practice, and a couple of things grabbed on him, and scared him, and scared us, so we had to shut him down for the rest of the week."