Getty Arik Armstead is hoping to return from injury for the 49ers in the playoffs.
There is ample concern these days around the health of San Francisco 49ers star defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who is dealing with plantar fasciitis as well as a knee injury, and has not suited up since December 3. He will not play on Sunday against the Rams, either, which means that if he takes the field when the 49ers open their playoff run—at home on January 21—he will not have played in seven weeks.
But general manager John Lynch said he’s OK with that. In fact, he is hopeful of getting Armstead back on the field for whomever it is the 49ers play in their opener.
“That’s our hope,” Lynch said on KNBR radio in San Francisco. “Our hope and, the one seed, when you talk about what it means, it means some extra time for a guy like Arik, who’s been working through some foot and knee injuries and making a great deal of progress. But this just gives him a little extra time.”
Arik Armstead Injury Will Keep Him Away for 7 Weeks
Indeed, the hope is that this extra time pays dividends for the 49ers, who have clearly missed Armstead. We got a good look at how the 49ers fared without Armstead in the middle of the defensive line in Week 15 when the Cardinals posted 234 yards rushing against the 49ers, a season-high in rush yards allowed and the team’s worst showing in that category since 2017.
They allowed 102 yards rushing and 241 yards passing against the Ravens in their Week 16 loss before playing well, finally, against the hapless Commanders in Week 17.
Lynch said watching his teammates have their ups-and-downs has not been easy on Armstead as he works his way back from injury.
“It’s been killing Arik,” he said. “He wants to be out there for his team. But this extra time just allows him more opportunity to heal up. And Arik Armstead is a big part of what we do. So he’s working hard, we expect to have him for the playoffs—we hope to, I don’t know about expect to. Because you always have to hit these markers and we’ll turn up the intensity of his training as we get closer. He’s doing real well.”
More Work for Sebastian Joseph-Day?
In part because of the injury to Arik Armstead, the 49ers made a roster move last week, picking up former Chargers starter and captain Sebastian Joseph-Day. He only played 11 snaps in his first game with the 49ers, but he is expected to play a lot more in Week 18.
One of the challenges for Joseph-Day is to play in the 49ers’ 4-3 defense, which has much different requirements of its defensive linemen than the 3-4 defense he’d played for in Los Angeles. That’s the challenge for the 49ers coaching staff in Week 18 and the next few weeks of practice.
“Sebastian, I thought he did some good things,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “He is a guy that has been a two gapper his whole career. So, [defensive line coach Kris] Kocurek is still working on him, number one with his stance and his get off, but his effort was there. We’ve just got to continue to improve on his technique.”