Injury updates: Shanahan expects to get Breida, Ford, and Staley back this week

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan provided injury updates Monday afternoon on a conference call to the media. Shanahan is expecting the team to get back Matt Breida, Dee Ford, and Joe Staley all from injury and to play against the New Orleans Saints Sunday. Lost in the Niners defensive dominance is that they’ve done it mainly without getting a full games worth of snaps without Ford, who they traded a second-round pick for and gave over $85 million to. That’s a testament to the coaching staff.

Shanahan was not as optimistic that wide receiver Dante Pettis would return from a knee injury he suffered last Wednesday in practice.

As for the injuries suffered Sunday, D.J. Jones has an ankle sprain. Jaquiski Tartt has a rib fracture. Both are day-to-day. Yes, you read that right. Tartt is day-to-day with broken ribs. It’s more of a pain tolerance, and the only thing that will help is rest. Marcell Harris filled in admirably for Tartt against the Ravens, but I fear he won’t match up as well against the Saints. Not having Tartt would be a big blow. Then again, Robert Saleh could do some more shuffling in the secondary if he isn’t confident in Harris and his coverage ability.

Julian Taylor has a ligament sprain and is out for a couple of weeks, and possibly more. With Ford likely to play, they’ll swap those two out on the active roster. Expect to see more Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead inside with Ford back. Versatility has been key to the 49ers’ success.

Richard Sherman said that he’d play on Sunday. Shanahan said that Sherman’s injury is similar to what George Kittle went through, in that he will not rule him out until the last minute. “If Sherm is healthy enough to go, it’ll be tough for us not to put him out there.” Sherman reportedly had a severe limp during the postgame. He suffered a knee injury against Baltimore, but it only kept him out of the game for one play. I have a tough time imagining Sherman won’t suit up. Shanahan said he’d rule out a normal person based on the eye test, but guys like Sherm usually find a way to get healthy and play. The head coach expressed confidence in Emmanuel Moseley if Sherman isn’t able to play.