Positivity is hard to come by for the San Francisco 49ers lately.
But there was one bit of positive news that was revealed on Monday by head coach Kyle Shanahan. Charvarius Ward is back with the team after spending time away to mourn the loss of his two-year-old daughter.
The 49ers allotted Ward as much time as he wanted to be with his family during his rough time. They gave him amazing support while he was away and could’ve taken more time off if he’d like. But it looks as if Ward is in an adequate state to get back to football now that he is back with the 49ers.
“Yes, he did. He was at our team meeting today,” said Shanahan on Ward returning. “He was at the game yesterday. He did some workouts here over the weekend with [head of strength & conditioning] Dustin Perry, our strength and conditioning coach. And we’ll see how this week goes with him.”
It sounds like the 49ers could have Ward back in Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers. The key factor is to see where his body and conditioning is at. Ward will not play if he isn’t in optimal shape. If he does, he will risk sustaining an injury.
He’s already had to miss a game this year in Week 6 due to a calf injury. The 49ers managed to win that game and have looked fine on defense without him thus far. However, that doesn’t mean they will continue to be fine without him the rest of the season.
Having Ward back will surely tighten up the passing defense. The 49ers are at a point where they have zero margin error after their fifth loss of the season. There are only seven more games left. They are running out of time to build momentum and get themselves in the playoffs.
Hopefully Ward’s return can provide an uplifting feeling to the team off the field as much as it can on the field.
