Ford, Breida, Staley, Sherman, all return to practice

The San Francisco 49ers had practiced earlier than usual and in a different location on Wednesday. The team is practicing at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, this week. Since there’s an early kickoff in the eastern time zone, the 49ers are practicing early than usual, as well. Practice started today at 10:20 a.m. PT and the team will continue to practice early to adjust their body clock to the eastern time zone.

The Niners received good news along the injury front, as a host of starters returned to practice Wednesday. Dee Ford, D.J. Jones, Joe Staley, Richard Sherman, Matt Breida, and Kentavius Street all took part in Wednesday’s practice. The only three players that were not participating during the portion open to the media were safety Jaquiski Tartt, defensive lineman Jullian Taylor, and wide receiver Dante Pettis.

Here’s a clip of Street:

Street will likely take the place of Taylor.

Staley looked good in this clip:

Both he and Mike McGlinchey will have their hands full with Saints edge rusher Cameron Jordan, who is second in the league in sacks and pressures this season. If there is any doubt that Staley isn’t 100%, I’d continue to let him rest with the way Daniel Brunskill has performed. He’s arguably been better than Staley.

Sherman was out there running around without a limp. That’s good news, considering how gingerly Sherman was walking around the locker room after the Ravens game. As Shanahan mentioned, it’d be tough to keep him out of this game.

Finally, a clip showing Breida:

The elephant in the offensive meeting rooms will be who gets how many touches. Breida has been one of the most efficient backs, when healthy, for the past two years, but you don’t bench a guy that ran the way that Raheem Mostert did last week. It’s a fascinating decision. When I asked Shanahan why Mostert, he said the team rolled with the hot-hand. That likely doesn’t change Sunday. We’ll see.

Dee Ford practicing is great news. Given the talent of the Saints tackles, having Ford alongside Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa will be imperative in bringing down Drew Brees. On a conference call earlier, Saints’ coach Sean Payton said Terron Armstead was limited. The left tackle only played ten snaps Week 12 against the Panthers and sat out on Thanksgiving against the Falcons.

Lastly, George Kittle may be limited, but Kyle Shanahan said Kittle wouldn’t be 100% for the rest of the year, and it’s up to the team to protect him to ensure he stays healthy.

Did not practice:

WR Pettis (knee)

S Tartt (ribs)

DT Taylor (elbow)

Limited:

DE Ford (quadricep, hamstring)

DT Jones (ankle)

TE Kittle (knee, ankle)

CB Sherman (knee),

T Staley (finger)

Full:

RB Breida (ankle)

WR Samuel (shoulder)

WR Sanders (ribs)

Saints players that did not practice on Wednesday:

LB Kiko Alonso (thigh)

LB A.J. Klein (knee)

G Andrus Peat (forearm)

Limited

T Terron Armstead (ankle)

RB Zach Line (knee)