Names on the 49ers’ injury report were already scarce prior to their divisional playoff matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. Kentavius Street and Dee Ford were the only names on the report, and they were both listed as ‘questionable.’
Street on Friday went on Injured Reserve to make room on the roster for Kwon Alexander to return from IR. That leaves Ford as the only injured player for the 49ers going into Saturday afternoon.
He’s been dealing with a hamstring injury since Week 11. He tried returning in Week 14, but re-aggravated the same hamstring and missed the rest of the year. Ford was limited in practice all week leading up to the divisional round.
If Ford can’t play, it’ll mean more snaps on the edge for Arik Armstead, and additional time for veteran Anthony Zettel.
Losing Ford for a postseason game would be devastating for a 49ers pass rush that was aiming to reach the dominant form it found early in the year when it averaged 4.0 sacks per game over the first 12 weeks. He’s not great at setting the edge against the run, so he likely would’ve been limited to work in passing situations against Minnesota, but he’s so impactful as a pass rusher that even having him in limited snaps would’ve given the defensive front a huge advantage.
Putting Armstead on the edge isn’t unordinary for the 49ers. He’s dominant as a run defender outside and would’ve likely seen a lot of snaps at that spot against a run-heavy team like Minnesota. Whether he can generate pass rush off the edge is a different story. He’s fine getting after the quarterback off the edge. After all, he led the team with a career-high 10.0 sacks this season. Armstead is dominant though when he can kick inside and work off the attention the edge rush receives.
That’s why Zettel is going to be the X-factor. Any production the 49ers can get out of the late-season free-agent signee is a bonus. Zettel was signed before the 49ers’ Week 17 showdown with the Seahawks. He played 29 snaps in that game without a ton of productivity.
All he has to do is not be a liability and chew up some snaps on the edge to help spell Armstead and Nick Bosa. If he can play between 25 and 30 snaps without any huge mistakes, he’ll be a passable replacement for Ford on the edge.