Dee Ford texted Mike Silver saying he doesn’t expect to be released

Kyle’s update, 9:45 a.m. PT: Apparently not:

During Monday’s media availability, Kyle Shanahan was asked about the status of edge rusher Dee Ford. Shanahan explained that he doesn’t expect Ford to be activated from injured reserve before Wednesday’s three-week deadline, which would essentially shut down Ford for the season.

Ford has been battling back injuries since last season, and it acted up again mid-season, which resulted in the 49ers putting their speed rusher on the shelf. San Francisco was hopeful that Ford would return to the lineup and provide some much-needed pass-rushing help, but it looks like his health won’t allow that.

On Tuesday night, a report surfaced from ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio that Ford was letting teammates know that he expects to be released on Wednesday.

If the 49ers believe that Ford will not be a valuable reinforcement due to health reasons in 2021, they might as well release him this week rather than putting him on season-ending injured reserve.

With a potential release of Ford, the 49ers would save $2.09M in salary cap space in 2022. They would carry a dead-cap charge of $9.82M in 2022 and $4.91M in 2023. San Francisco restructured Ford’s deal this offseason to free up some much-needed cap space but did so in hopes that the former Chief could help them this season.

In six appearances this season, Ford has racked up five tackles, three sacks, four quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. He was a valuable addition on paper when the 49ers traded a second-round pick for him, but it hasn’t panned out the way that both parties have hoped due to multiple injury issues.

The 49ers probably bet on Ford’s return one too many times and should have cut bait with him sooner, but they finally came to their senses and will look to release him.