Some major defensive line additions are en route on both sides of Saturday’s Christmas Eve matchup between the 49ers and Commanders, and both date back to the first round of 2020’s NFL Draft.
Washington will return star defensive end Chase Young — the Ohio State man who was drafted No. 2 overall the year after Nick Bosa was drafted No. 2 overall — to an already imposing defensive line unit.
Young hasn’t played since November 14, 2021, when he suffered a torn ACL. He underwent an ACL reconstruction, not an ACL repair, which, “used a graft from Young’s left patellar tendon to reconstruct the ligament in his right knee,” according to the Washington Post.
He was initially expected to return against the New York Giants, before the team’s bye, in Week 13, but it’s taken another four weeks.
But he’s back this week, officially. Washington’s only OUT designation is for tackle Saahdiq Charles, in the concussion protocol. Safety Kam Curl (ankle) and corner Benjamin St.-Juste (ankle) are questionable.
It gives Washington a full-forced defensive line group featuring Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne up front with Montez Sweat and Young on the outside.
Javon Kinlaw was selected 12 picks after Young in that draft.
He, too, will return this Saturday, as he told reporters he expected to on Tuesday.
John Lynch said on KNBR that Kinlaw has “practiced really well and everything’s holding up really well,” saying that the scout team offensive line were “feeling it” after going up against Kinlaw in practice.
Here’s a look at him on Wednesday:
Kyle Shanahan said Thursday that Kinlaw had no setbacks and will play Sunday.
It’s been a long wait for Kinlaw, who hasn’t played since Week 3, and has been dealing with knee issues since a season-ending injury against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15 of 2020. It required a surgery which didn’t solve the issue, and required a full knee construction last season.
Kinlaw told KNBR on Thursday, as he did earlier this year, that he’s learned to be more even-keeled in his approach.
He said as a rookie, he came in with too much energy and that recklessness could affect his play negatively. He’s taken notes from Arik Armstead, who he called his favorite player in the league, about being more steady.
“I’m just preparing like usual,” Kinlaw told KNBR. “It ain’t gonna be like the emotions are gonna be too high, because when they get too high, then that’s what they get out of control. You can never get too high out there. Just try to be even keeled these days, versus coming into this thing and trying to be all over the place. Because that ain’t good for the team and that ain’t good for me.”
Kinlaw said he was motivated by the knowledge that he’d be able to get back onto the field this season. He said he didn’t receive assurances from John Lynch or the medical staff that he’d return.
It was an internal belief, he said.
As far as performance goes, Kinlaw’s long stated that his pad level is everything. Because of his 6-foot-5-inch frame that’s mostly legs, there’s a naturally tendency to get too high, he said.
“If my technique is good and my pad level is good, everything else will take care of itself,” Kinlaw said. “So when the pads are low, I don’t believe anybody can really rock me. And that’s always a struggle for me because I’m such a high-cut person. I’m all legs, so it’s always a game of playing with low pads for me.”
There’s also a chance that Kinlaw could be joined in his return by rookie defensive tackle Kalia Davis. Both Kinlaw and Davis had their return windows opened, but because Davis’ injury was an ACL tear suffered in college, he landed on the non-football injury list.
That means Davis could return without counting against the two remaining returns the 49ers have for injured reserve. Kinlaw will use one this week, and Elijah Mitchell is expected to use the last slot to return for the playoffs (Shanahan said he’s still on track for that return).
Shanahan didn’t provide a Thursday update on Davis, and his tone earlier in the week was wait-and-see given that he’s having his first NFL practices this week. But if Davis does return, whether it’s this week or over the next two, it would be special for him and Kinlaw.
Their birthdays are a day apart, and Kinlaw said they’ve bonded tightly over the season:
“We click a lot,” Kinlaw said. “Even off the field, we hang, we play the game a lot. He’s really becoming one of my closest, closest friends through this thing. And we’ve been battling a lot of the same adversity. So I lean on him. He leans on me…
“He’s got some explosion in his lower body. That’s for sure. Even though he’s got like, little chicken legs, he’s real explosive, real real explosive.”
Outside of the defensive line room, the 49ers have a handful of questionable players. The one surprise on the list is running back Jordan Mason, who had a tight hamstring on Wednesday.
OUT:
- Deebo Samuel (knee, ankle)
- Jimmy Garoppolo (foot)
- Kevin Givens (knee)
Questionable:
- Kerry Hyder (ankle)
- Ambry Thomas (ankle)
- Tarvarius Moore (knee)
- Charvarius Ward (concussion) – Shanahan said he’s in the “last steps” of the concussion protocol, and was hopeful he could return Saturday
- Jordan Mason (hamstring)
If Mason can’t go, fellow rookie Ty Davis-Price would figure to get some carries, with Tevin Coleman (practice squad) likely bumped up, potentially for a special teams role.
Shanahan said that Davis-Price’s high ankle sprain earlier in the year was ill-timed and is the main reason he hasn’t played much. When he went out, Jeff Wilson Jr. stepped up, and when he came back, Jordan Mason had improved on special teams and Elijah Mitchell was also back.