Running back Jerick McKinnon was activated off of the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list on Tuesday. He is being eased back into practice and was seen running around during individual drills without a brace on his leg.
Jerick McKinnon going through his first individual drills since Sept. 1 .... pic.twitter.com/J2wIuSjLot
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 6, 2019
Fans will have to wait to see McKinnon thrown into team drills. The running back is about 11 months removed from the torn ACL he suffered on September 1, 2018, which caused him to miss all of last season — his first with the 49ers.
"We're glad to have him out (on the field)," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after Tuesday's practice. "I know he probably had a lot of butterflies getting out for the first time, but we only let him go on air. He was just able to do individual (drills) and stuff like that. We'll watch it again on the tape when we get in, and evaluate it, but he's been looking good for a little bit now on air.
"It's nice to get pads out there and get him with the team since he's off PUP now. He'll be in walk-through this afternoon, and we'll keep doing it day by day, and hopefully sooner rather than later, we'll get him out there in some team drills."
Shanahan said he believes there is enough time to prepare McKinnon for some playing time in the preseason, but the team will be smart while bringing him back and wants to avoid any setbacks.
"That's why we're easing him in slowly," Shanahan added. "That's what we've done here these last two weeks. Even though he's off PUP now, we'll continue to do the same thing."
Shanahan said he planned to make McKinnon a "huge part of the offense" last year before the injury sidelined the running back. The team wanted to add both a running back and a wide receiver last offseason.
"We studied Jet, and compared him to everyone else," Shanahan said. "We feel like we kind of got the best of both worlds."
Jimmy Garoppolo is also returning from an ACL injury from last year. Shanahan repeated that the 49ers quarterback would not play during Saturday's preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys, but the plan is for him to see some action in the team's second and third exhibition games. That will be a matchup on August 19 against the Denver Broncos and another on August 24 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Both are road games.
"I expect him to play (preseason games) two and three, but nothing is mapped out or set in stone," Shanahan said of Garoppolo.
Coincidently, Garoppolo suffered his torn ACL during a Week 3 road game last season in Kansas City.
The 49ers are also being patient with safety Jimmie Ward, who they hope can be full-go in practice during the week leading to the 49ers' second preseason game.
"I know he's able to run and do stuff like that, but any time you're dealing with a clavicle, you've got to make sure it's strong enough to take a hit," Shanahan said. "That's what we'll be patient with."
