Getty Javon Kinlaw tackling a Washington Commanders player for the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite suffering through a series of injuries across their defensive line, the San Francisco 49ers have maintained a dominant pass rush, with the eighth-most sacks in the NFL and a rushing defense that ranks first, according to Pro Football Reference. Fortunately, players are starting to heal up from those injuries, and Javon Kinlaw, the team’s 2020 first-round pick, is expected back on the field in Week 16 to face off against the Washington Commanders.
Speaking to reporters during his media availability session, Kyle Shanahan was asked if Kinlaw, who had his 21-day window activated after Week 15, would be ready to play against Washington, as transcribed by 49ers Webzone.
“Yes. Yeah, I expect him to be up,” Shanahan said. “He had a real good Thursday practice that was on a Wednesday and everything was light today, but he had a good week, no setbacks and I’m real excited to see him out there.”
Though Kinlaw’s return shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as both Shanahan and Richard Sherman suggested that he’d be back following the team’s second game against Seattle, even the player himself basically confirmed the news on social media, as he shared a link to an Our SF 49ers post his expected return on his Instagram Story with the phrase “sirskiiiiiii” added as confirmation.
Arik Armstead Has Made an Instant Impact for the 49ers
While Kinlaw is expected to return in Week 16, his Week 1 partner in crime, Arik Armstead, made his return four weeks earlier in Week 12, marking his first on-field appearance since Week 4. When asked about the impact Armstead has had on the defensive line since his return, Shanahan complemented his inside-out rusher.
“Armstead is huge for us,” Shanahan said. “Just the type of size he has, the way he plays, how good of a player he is, that was one of our biggest concerns with him going down early in the year, I was real worried about it and we were able to play real well while he was out and getting him back makes us so much stronger. Not just what he does, but anytime you have the push and stuff on the inside, it always helps the edge players so much more. I think everyone knows how good our edge players are and when you have him going in the middle, it’s changes the whole D-line.”
After having to focus solely on Nick Bosa for much of the middle of the season, Armstead’s return has given the 49ers two legitimate forces on their defensive line that need an opposing team’s full attention, with a third in Kinlaw returning soon too.
Arik Armstead’s Impact Goes Beyond the Stat Sheet
Asked to further discuss Armstead’s impact and how he has found so much success as an interior rusher despite being uncharacteristically tall for a defensive tackle at 6-foot-7, 290, Shanahan complemented the Oregon product for being smart with his playing height and body usage.
“He’s got the size to push and if he tries to play as low as he can,” Shanahan said. “He is a guy who can bend well for how big he is, but when you’re that big and you have that type of push, you don’t always have to get under people. [Baltimore Ravens DL] Calais Campbell is similar to me in that way. There’s a few guys like that, but I think that’s sometimes why maybe he doesn’t always flash to everybody because you’re not going to get under guys and make them miss and things like that, but that’s why he affects every play. Quarterbacks feel him, his size out there in pushing the pocket and even when he doesn’t get on the stats sheet, quarterbacks know they can’t step into a throw, it’s a huge difference.”
Often compared to Campbell coming out of Oregon, Armstead has yet to fully reach the same level of on-field production, as the former was a Pro Bowler by 2017 and the latter has yet to check that milestone off of his wishlist. Still, for what the 49ers are looking for, there are few players who could fit the role better than Armstead, even if some fans desperately wish he was still paired up with his fellow collegiate Duck, DeForest Buckner.