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Arik Armstead was a key interior force in the San Francisco 49ers‘ Week 4 Monday night romp of the Los Angeles Rams.
While only tallying two tackles, he did play the role of locksmith and busting down this door for Nick Bosa.
Unfortunately, the 49ers’ $85 million defender who has been lauded for his selfless play and locker room leadership dealt with a new setback that head coach Kyle Shanahan said made things “a little bit worse.”
What Arik Armstead Is Now Dealing With
Armstead had already been bothered by a plantar fasciitis injury even during the 24-9 victory over the defending Super Bowl champs.
But now, in his appearance on KNBR’s The Murph and Mac Show on Friday, October 7, Shanahan not only ruled out the veteran Armstead against the Carolina Panthers with that injury, but he’s also now dealing with an ailment on his other foot.
“We’ll see. It’s week-to-week with him right now. But any time we don’t have Arik, we’re concerned. He had something that was bothering him. He got a new thing on a different foot last week that made it a little bit worse and we got to take it a little slower this week,” Shanahan told both hosts.
The Athletic’s David Lombardi later revealed that it was Armstead’s other foot that was bothering him and not the one with plantar fasciitis during the week of practice.
Injured Reserve Imminent for Arik Armstead?
One option is now on the table for the valuable trench defender: Injured reserve.
Does Shanahan see that as a possibility? Matt Barrows of The Athletic provided this update.
“Kyle Shanahan said it’s possible Arik Armstead (both feet) goes on IR and takes advantage of the early November bye week to full heal,” Barrows tweeted.
If Armstead goes on IR, it will mean he will miss the following games following the Panthers contest on October 9: The Atlanta Falcons, the Kansas City Chiefs and the rematch against the Rams at SoFi Stadium. After the November 6 bye week, Armstead would return on November 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers should he end up going on IR.
Fellow First-Round D-Lineman Also Out in Week 5
Javon Kinlaw will also be unavailable for the Panthers game.
The former top-15 pick of the 2020 NFL draft, who was ruled out of the Rams game on the eve of the MNF tilt, will also be sidelined with a lingering knee issue. Shanahan reminded reporters that Kinalw’s knee ailment following his ACL tear required being closely monitored.
“We expected some of this going through the offseason. We knew some things would act up on him,” Shanahan said to the Bay Area media on Friday. It has, we hoped he could get to the game last week. Not much improvement this week, so he is definitely out this week. Will most likely be next week, also.”
Kinlaw is dealing with fluid buildup in his knee but is anticipated to be back “sooner than later.”
Signs point to veteran 30-year-old Akeem Spence being elevated to help fill the voids left behind by Armstead and Kinlaw — plus assist Hassan Ridgeway (who got his first sack as a 49er versus the Rams), Kevin Givens and Kerry Hyder Jr. on the interior.
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