The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to get back Jimmie Ward fairly soon, and the staff will get a better idea on Tuesday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the training staff put him through significant workouts on Sunday and Monday and like how he has responded. The plan is to put him through another big workout on Tuesday and see how he responds.
“I feel really good about Jimmie. We were hoping to get him back this week, and I really believe we could if we really wanted to. But we’re trying to play it smart with him. We pushed him real hard on Sunday through a workout, wanted to see how he responded yesterday going through the same thing. And he responded to both really well. I know we’re gonna push him hard today with the workouts, just trying to see how he responds to those before we throw him out on the field. I know there’s a chance to get him in the practices, but we’re going to be real smart with him. But I definitely think it’s looking positive.”
It makes sense to play it safe, so it will be interesting to see if Wednesday is when Ward finally returns. The 49ers welcome the Denver Broncos to town and have two joint practices before a walkthrough and then the game on Saturday. If Ward is activated from PUP by Wednesday, I would be surprised if he gets into the Broncos game. But if they can get him back on the practice field this week, getting in two games of preseason action is a plus. If that’s the case, this week is especially huge for UDFA safety Lorenzo Jerome.