San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh didn't close the door on the possibility of Jimmie Ward playing on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The often-injured defensive back broke a finger during practice on Wednesday and did not practice on Thursday.

Ward suffered a fractured collarbone in May which kept him out for much of the offseason and preseason. Four of his five NFL seasons have ended on injured reserve. The 49ers re-signed Ward to a one-year deal in March rather than pursuing one of several free agents available or using a draft pick on a young safety.


General manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Thursday and discussed Ward, who finds his status for the regular-season opener up in the air.

"They're still trying to ascertain, and get a hold on this thing, and talking to specialists as to whether he can play through it," Lynch said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Lund" show. "We'll have some more answers tomorrow, and we'll see from there.

"Fortunately, it's not a huge deal. We'll see for this week. One of those things, I know Jimmie will want to play. It's just whether we can put him out there."

Ward was competing with Tarvarius Moore for the starting free safety job before the latest injury.

You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.




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