Jimmie Ward could miss Week 1 with a ‘pretty bad’ hamstring injury

The injury bug won’t leave the 49ers alone. Kyle Shanahan said safety Jimmie Ward pulled his hamstring, leaving his availability for Week 1 in doubt. Shanahan said Ward “is going to need some time,” and the injury is “pretty bad.”

Shanahan continued: “It’s been bothersome to me. They’ve all come after a day off in practice. I think our biggest challenge has been these off days and how to come back from them.”

Ward joins Daniel Brunskill, Elijah Mitchell, Emmanuel Moseley, and Charvarius Ward as players who have suffered some level of a hamstring injury during the past couple of weeks.

Tarvarius Moore, George Odum, and Dontae Johnson will fill in for Ward. This is a brutal blow as Ward does a little bit of everything for the defense. Last year, Darqueze Dennard played some snaps at safety late in the year. I’m curious if Dennard and Samuel Womack find their way onto the field with Ward out.

Shanahan said the 49ers are in the process of getting their roster down to 85 players. There’s a good chance we hear about those roster moves Monday afternoon before the team takes off to Minnesota for joint practices. Among those cuts won’t be Jimmy Garoppolo, per Shanahan.