The word on Jerick McKinnon's return is not encouraging. The San Francisco 49ers running back suffered another setback during Tuesday's practice, his first since a brief two-practice cameo earlier this month.
RELATED RB Jerick McKinnon has another setback at practice, says 49ers GM John Lynch
General manager John Lynch sounded a little more encouraged about his rookie defensive end, Nick Bosa. Lynch said on August 22 that the chances of Bosa playing during Week 1 were about 50-50. He sounded a little more optimistic during his Wednesday-morning interview on KNBR.
Bosa suffered an ankle injury on August 7 and hasn't practiced or played since then. The injury came after the rookie sustained a low-grade hamstring strain on May 21, which forced him to miss most of the 49ers' offseason program.
"He's doing awesome," Lynch said of Bosa on the "Murph and Mac" show. "He really is. I've got a nice perch here where I can look out. I do so each day to watch Nick and his progress, and (I) get reports, obviously. He really is healing at a really good rate, and Week 1 is certainly in play.
"I'm not going to say probable, questionable; I'm not going to go there yet because we just aren't to that point yet, but he's kind of exceeding where we though he could be, so it's definitely a possibility.
"Knowing how much he means to this organization, and how we're looking at this as a long-term proposition, we're not doing to rush anything. And doing what he does, it's one thing to be able to run out here, but doing it against a 330-pound man, turning, and all the things that D-linemen have to do is another level.
"But I can saw we're very encouraged with the way it's going with Nick."
The 49ers made Bosa, who played college football at Ohio State, the No. 2 overall pick in April. He is part of a revamped defensive front that already featured Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and added veteran pass rusher Dee Ford.
Speaking of Ford, Lynch believes he will be ready for Week 1. Ford has been dealing with chronic knee tendinitis, which has kept him out of the preseason. He returned to practice this week.
"Dee is doing great," Lynch said. "I'm real happy with that. We addressed something that really he had been dealing with for some time, going back to his Kansas City days, even into college, he'll tell you. I think we were able to — a chronic condition above his knee where he had some tendinitis, and it was just, 'Let's not take this into the regular season. Let's get Dee Ford at 100 percent or as close as we can to that,' and I can tell you it's worked.
"He's looked tremendous out here the last couple of days. Barring anything else, Dee will be out there Week 1, and ready to go."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
