It hasn’t gone according to plan for Javon Kinlaw. He’s been far from the DeForest Buckner replacement the 49ers had hoped he’d be, through little fault of his own.
Exactly two years ago today, Kinlaw suffered a knee injury against the Dallas Cowboys that altered a promising trajectory. Despite the knee worries he came into the league with — multiple teams flagged his knees as a potential arthritis concern — he was stacking a fairly impressive stretch of games towards the second half of that cursed 2020 campaign for the 49ers.
But the knee injury suffered in that Dallas game allowed him to play just four games in 2021. He underwent a full knee reconstruction last year.
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan expressed a confidence — perhaps rose-tinted, in retrospect — that the issues for Kinlaw would be solved with the surgery.
That wasn’t the case. The 6-foot-5-inch interior behemoth played the first three games of this season before landing on injured reserve. San Francisco hasn’t specified exactly what the complications have been, but have said he’s been working to rehab since being sidelined.
On Tuesday, Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers had seen enough in the rehab process from Kinlaw, without setbacks, to open his return window. Also activated was fellow defensive lineman and sixth-round rookie Kalia Davis, who was on the non-football injury list.
While San Francisco can only return two more players from injured reserve (likely Kinlaw and Elijah Mitchell), Davis doesn’t affect that tally being on the NFI list. He’s a real cheat code, if you will.
The team also added cornerback Tre Swilling to the practice squad, following the ACL tear suffered by Dontae Johnson.
As far as Kinlaw goes, Shanahan was careful not to express the sort of optimism that hasn’t paid off in the past. He’s expected to play. But beyond that, it’s hard to know.
“I know he feels as good as he’s felt,” Shanahan said. “There’s a high level [of confidence] that he can play,, but that’s the whole thing with what he’s been going through with this knee, it’s can you do it without it flaring up and having setbacks on it?
That’s why we’ve been very patient in the rehab. He has been extremely consistent with it and we’ve been able to do it for a while here without any setbacks and we’ve done as much as we can. The only thing left for him to do is to put pads on and go out there and play. So there’s always a risk of it. But we’re at the point, he’s at the point, where it’s time to find out.”
Kinlaw was more direct.
He was visibly excited when talking to reporters in the locker room and said he expects to play Saturday.
“Me, personally, I do [expect to play],” Kinlaw said. He said he’s itching to, “… be a part of something special, greatness. I’m excited. Couldn’t be more happy.”
Kinlaw didn’t practice Tuesday, but will practice Wednesday.
Davis is the more under-the-radar name, and the fact that he hasn’t played since suffering a torn ACL on October 9 of his senior year at UCF.
He’s an interesting player, converting from linebacker to edge rusher to defensive tackle at the University of Central Florida. But if he can get on the field, there’s cause for excitement.
General manager John Lynch made a direct comparison between Davis and D.J. Jones, highlighting his “get off, explosion… he’s a really good finisher once he disrupts.”
Davis told KNBR Tuesday that he’d made use of his time learning the system and watching how veterans operate.
“I’m like a kid in a candy shop right now,” Davis said. “Man, I can’t wait to get out there today… I’ve been like a sponge just soaking in it.”
Shanahan’s tone on Tuesday was that anything Davis could offer the team would be a bonus.
But with Hassan Ridgeway likely done for the season — he will be if Kinlaw returns — and Kevin Givens out with a sprained MCL, the need for help on the interior has increased substantially.
That said, this is Davis’ first taste of the NFL, so it’s impossible to tell what, if anything, he can be expected to offer at this juncture.
“He has a chance,” Shanahan said. “This is his first time getting out there so I’m not trying to put all that pressure on him, but we’d like to see him. He didn’t get to compete with us here in the offseason. So we’ll open his three-week window here today and he’ll get a chance go out there and hopefully get in some football shape and show us what he can do.”
Outside of the defensive line room, there are other injuries, and a host of players who either did not participate in practice or were limited.
Didn’t practice:
- Deebo Samuel (knee, ankle)
- Jimmy Garoppolo (foot)
- Kevin Givens (knee)
- Kerry Hyder Jr. (ankle)
Limited:
- Brock Purdy (oblique, rib)
- Tarvarius Moore (knee)
- Charvarius Ward (concussion)
- Christian McCaffrey (knee)
- Arik Armstead (foot, ankle)
Here’s what Shanahan said on Brock Purdy:
“I know he was real sore in the game having to play through that I think he’s in a good spot. He’s better right now than he was last week going into the game, but he still is going to be somewhat limited today.”
All signs are that Purdy should be fine for Saturday’s game, barring a setback, which Shanahan indicated last week is unlikely with his injury.