The 49ers won't be fully healthy when the playoffs start for them in a week and a half.
Clelin Ferrell has a knee injury and will miss at least one game, possibly a few, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. He said it's possible Ferrell will return in the playoffs, meaning it's not certain he will return.
Ferrell injured his knee early in the 49ers' meaningless season finale against the Rams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan played the starters in the first quarter so they wouldn't be rusty for the playoffs -- a smart decision, but one that came with inherent risk because football is violent. It was likely that one starter would get injured, and that starter was Ferrell.
Ferrell is one of the few 49ers starters who isn't a Pro Bowler or a Pro Bowl alternate this season, because he has only 3.5 sacks. But he was extremely reliable and consistent against the run for 17 regular season games.
Ferrell is one of the 49ers' best run defenders. He arguably is their best edge-setter -- better than Nick Bosa and Chase Young, who both think pass rush before run defense. So Ferrell's absence could hurt the 49ers if they play a team that runs the ball well, a team such as the Rams or the Lions.
There's a distinct possibility the 49ers will play the Rams after the first-round bye week, and the Rams have Kyren Williams, the second-leading rusher in the NFL. Having Arik Armstead return from plantar fasciitis certainly would help the 49ers' interior run defense, but Williams also attacks around the edges, where Ferrell would be.
It will be interesting to see what the absence of the 49ers' least-heralded defensive end will impact the defense.
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