There’ll be two key 49ers among those missing for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, although the reason for their absences are very different.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Thursday announced defensive end Dee Ford and wide receiver Jalen Hurd would both be absent for the first game on their exhibition slate.
Ford’s absence won’t hurt his chances of making the club. The team is working him in slowly after he missed virtually all of last year with a back injury. He’s been getting some days off in camp and is slowly working into team drills. Throwing him into a game situation would be an unnecessary acceleration of his timeline. As long as he’s available Week 1 the 49ers will be satisfied.
Hurd’s story is a little different. The team just doesn’t have very much film on him since he’s played in only one exhibition game since being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft. Hurd has missed practice time and has only limited action in team drills. If he’s going to make the team, the coaches have to see him in game situations.
Shanahan wasn’t optimistic about Hurd’s chances to make the roster given how his camp has gone, but he scaled back on that some Thursday when he went into more detail on how the team is managing the receiver as he makes his way back from a torn ACL last training camp.
“I was impressed with him. He got some balls. Made some plays,” Shanahan said of Hurd’s practice performance. “No, he’s coming along. The stuff that I said the other day wasn’t anything that was a shot at him. That’s the reality of injured players. I don’t think people realize that when you have guys who are talented enough to make your team, it’s tough because it’s not about just getting them to the 53. Those are the stressful decisions (general manager) John (Lynch) and I have because there’s guys you really want to help but you’ve got to be smart with them because they’re coming off real serious injuries. But you eventually got to show that you won’t get re-injured and that’s what’s tough.”
Hurd and the 49ers are in a tough spot. They need him healthy, but they also need to see him play. Ultimately a player’s health goes above all else, and the hope is that Hurd is back to 100 percent after missing 2019 with a back injury and last year with the ACL. That doesn’t mean the coaches will automatically put him on the roster though, especially at a position where the 49ers desperately need capable depth.
Saturday is just the first of three preseason games though. Hurd will have two more chances to play in games and plenty of practices to make his mark and work his way onto the active roster for the first time in his career.