The 49ers may wind up being without defensive lineman Arik Armstead for a prolonged period of time. Armstead missed the team’s Week 3 loss to the Broncos, and then left late in their Week 4 matchup with the Rams. The Week 3 absence and Week 4 exit were related to foot injuries that could ultimately land him on IR.
Armstead was out for Week 3 because of plantar fasciitis. That may have been manageable in the short term, but head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday told reporters after practice that Armstead is dealing with another, non-plantar fasciitis injury.
“No, it was his other foot,” Shanahan said. “Still got some things with both feet, so we know it’s this week, it’ll probably be next week too, so I’m calling it week-to-week.”
A week-to-week diagnosis for a foot injury on a big defensive lineman could spell a longer absence for Armstead than the team originally anticipated. The club has their two East Coast road games, then a home battle against the Chiefs before hitting the road to face the Rams before their Week 9 bye. That schedule makes Armstead an IR candidate according to Shanahan.
“We can, we may, but we don’t have to decide that now,” Shanahan said of Armstead possibly going to IR. “We’re still less than 53, and we won’t decide that very fast. We possibly could actually decide that on Arik by tomorrow, but we still have a lot more to discuss in talking with him because I know we have four games then the Bye Week, so we’ll see how that works out. But then the guy’s coming up, JV, there’s not a decision on that, we’re going to wait on him and we’ll discuss that with Jimmie here on this long plane ride we’re about to get on.”
If Jimmie Ward is going to come back, the team won’t have to clear a roster spot for him since they released wide receiver Willie Snead IV on Tuesday. There are a handful of maneuvers the team could make if they do wind up putting Armstead on IR though, including bringing up an offensive lineman from the practice squad if they want to help their depth at a position where they’re already banged up.
Saturday is the cutoff for the 49ers to make a decision on Armstead where he’d get the bye week as an extra week off.
