Entering his first season as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, it was known how good of a feel Kyle Shanahan had on the offensive side of the ball.
Now that he’s at the helm, however, Shanahan also has a responsibility to overlook the 49ers defense and stay up to date with developments on that part of the roster.
Two players that the 49ers expect big things from on the defensive end – DeForest Buckner and Jimmie Ward – have missed time due to injury, and are working their way back to full strength before the September 10 season opener versus the Carolina Panthers.
Shanahan joined Murph and Mac and provided an update on the two projected starters.
On Buckner, whose ankle injury caused him to miss much of August before returning Wednesday:
“[Buckner will] definitely be limited (in snaps) if he does go (this Sunday versus Minnesota). We’re trying to be smart with Buck. We definitely feel he could go if it was Week 1 vs Carolina. We just got him out there yesterday for the first time going a little more scout team reps, just trying to ease him in. We’ll play it smart, we’ll see how he goes today. We’re going to have a full speed practice again today (Friday), we’ll have a walk-through tomorrow, we’re going to check him a little bit more. I would love for him to play, I would love for him to get out there, but we’re definitely going to be smart with that,” Shanahan said.
On Ward, whose hamstring injury suffered as the start of training camp caused him to be out for nearly a month before returning on Wednesday:
“Jimmie, just like Buck, we want to be very smart with that. Every time you’re dealing with a hamstring, it can seem 98% and you go out and do just one quick reactionary move and you lose a guy for another month. Jimmie has done a real good job in the practices he has been back. I do feel if we were going against Carolina (in Week One) he would be ready to go, but we are definitely going to be smart with him too and wait until he’s 100%,” Shanahan said.
With a new coaching staff, the 49ers preseason might have a tad more importance to it than compared to other teams across the league. Even so, Shanahan made it clear that there is no rush in giving Buckner or Ward a heavy amount of snaps before the beginning of the season.
