Kyle Shanahan Doesn't Expect Dee Ford to Play Again this Season

First, the 49ers placed Dee Ford on Injured Reserve with a back injury on Nov. 7.

Then, on Nov. 25, they opened his 21-day practice window to get him ready to return from I.R. and play again this season. The 49ers need to activate him during that window, or he can't return.

That window will close this week.

"We’ve got to make (the decision) by Wednesday," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on a conference call. "We'll see how that goes. That's something that I never can predict, but I'll be surprised if he's back. I think we'll just have to continue playing without him."

Bad news for the 49ers, but it's hardly surprising. Ford has been injured since they traded a second-round pick for him and then gave him that ridiculous five-year, $85 million contract extension.

Here are my top-three takeaways from this news:

1. Why did the 49ers open Ford's practice window so early? They could have waited, opened it in a couple weeks and potentially brought him back for the playoffs. Once again, they rushed an injured player back too soon.

2. Why did the 49ers renegotiate Ford's contract this offseason? Sure, doing so freed up some salary cap space this season, but also made it virtually impossible for the 49ers to get rid of Ford next season. Cutting him will save the 49ers only $2 million and cost them almost $10 million in dead cap space. So he's coming back. They should have cut bait when they had the chance.

3. I don't want to hear another training camp story about how Dee Ford is in the best shape of his life and poised for a bounce-back season. We heard enough of those stories this year. His body clearly cannot hold up to the violence of football anymore. That's the reality. Those training camp stories are pure fantasy.