The San Francisco 49ers have been bitten by the injury bug early and often throughout training camp and preseason play. That has made head coach Kyle Shanahan's job harder, as he has to evaluate his roster knowing some players aren't able to practice or are playing at less than 100 percent.
Kyle Shanahan dealt another tough update on the injury status of veteran safety Jimmie Ward. Ward suffered a hamstring injury in practice yesterday afternoon, and it was bad enough to hold him out of practice today, which was concerning already. Shanahan dropped the bomb to reporters today by labeling Ward's injury as “pretty bad” and saying Ward may not be ready come Week 1 of the regular season.
Jimmie Ward suffered a hamstring injury in practice Sunday. Shanahan termed it “pretty bad” and there’s a chance he could miss Week 1. #49ers
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) August 15, 2022
This certainly isn't good news for a 49ers defense, specifically their secondary, that is already beat up pretty badly. San Francisco's top four cornerbacks (Emmanuel Mosley, Charvarius Ward, Dontae Johnson, and Jason Verrett) are all dealing with injuries of their own, and now Jimmie Ward can be added to that lengthy list as well.
Ward has seen his role with the 49ers change pretty constantly throughout his time with the team, but he figures to be the team's starting free safety heading into the 2022 campaign. Ward is coming off one of his best seasons in the NFL in which he did a little bit of everything, and was looking to translate that to the 2022 season.
It appears as though those plans may have to be put on hold. Ward's injury will force an already depleted secondary to work even harder as the regular season draws near. And if Ward is forced to miss time during the regular season, that would be a huge blow to a 49ers defense that relies heavily on his experience to lead them from the back.
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