The San Francisco 49ers will be without their big offseason acquisition, cornerback Charvarius Ward, for a couple of weeks. According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, who joined KNBR on Wednesday morning, Ward is dealing with a muscle strain and will miss some time ahead of the regular season.
"He had a little setback here with a muscle strain, so he'll be out here for the next probably two weeks or so," Shanahan said on the Murph & Mac show. "But he's gotten enough baseline in to where his camp has been perfect. At least now I know he's not going to get a serious injury here in the next two weeks, and he'll be ready to go here Week 1, though."
San Francisco signed Ward to a three-year, $40.5 million deal in March. Ward, 26, has recorded 222 tackles, a sack, 29 passes defensed, four interceptions, and a forced fumble in 56 game appearances (43 starts) through his previous four NFL seasons, all with the Kansas City Chiefs.
"He's been great," Shanahan said of Ward's short time with the 49ers. "That was the guy we targeted from the beginning. We knew going into free agency that we wanted to target and go after a corner. We struggled in that area last year, having to bring in those vets and then having to play some rookies who weren't quite ready at the beginning. So we really wanted to go out there and get that type of guy.
"When we looked at all the free agents and stuff, Ward was right there at the top for us. He was the guy we were going to target, and we ended up getting him. And since he's been here, he's been better than advertised."
With cornerback Emmanuel Moseley already temporarily sidelined due to a hamstring strain, the 49ers could deploy some of their younger talent against the Green Bay Packers on Friday.
Shanahan added that defensive lineman Arik Armstead remains on schedule during his knee sprain recovery.
"I think he's got a chance to join us in Minnesota next week, but it's something I'm definitely not stressed about," Shanahan said.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.