SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers free safety Jimmie Ward has yet to so much as practice in this year's training camp after injuring his hamstring during the conditioning test on reporting day.
The Niners were hopeful Ward would be able to return for last week's joint practices and preseason game against the Denver Broncos but weren't quite ready to give him the green light after a rigorous test.
This week, there's an even better chance that Ward could return, according to the plan coach Kyle Shanahan laid out Sunday evening.
"We're going to put him through again, we put him through a hard workout last week, tomorrow we're going to have our DB coach Jeff Hafley go out there and really take him through a hard workout that's more pertained to exactly football," Shanahan said. "So we're going to see how he responds to that on Monday and Tuesday and hopefully we'll get him ready to go by Wednesday."
Getting Ward back now would be a huge boost for a secondary that's been in flux for large chunks of this preseason. Without Ward, the Niners have cycled through a few options at free safety, including Jaquiski Tartt, Vinnie Sunseri and rookie Lorenzo Jerome. Jerome has emerged over the past couple of weeks and done an admirable job filling in.
Still, it's fair to wonder whether Jerome would be ready to start in Week 1 given his lack of experience. Of course, Ward doesn't have any experience playing free safety in NFL games, either, after playing corner and safety at Northern Illinois.
Ward will get an extra day to prove capable of a return this week because the Niners are transitioning to a schedule similar to the regular season. San Francisco won't practice again until Wednesday as it prepares to play at Minnesota on Sunday.
"This is really our only trial run before the season," Shanahan said. "So we're doing everything the exact same way this week as we will Week 1 versus Carolina. So Monday will be our day after the game. I had to give the players today off, because during training camp, they have to have one every seven days. So tomorrow will be the true day after the game, then Tuesday will be the true players' day off, then we'll have practice Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, travel on Saturday."