Lynch confirms Hargrave still could return during 49ers’ playoff run originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Defensive line help, eventually, could be on the way. Emphasis on ‘eventually.’
Veteran defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Sept. 28 with a torn triceps, still has a chance to return to the field during the playoffs — should the 49ers make it — San Francisco general manager John Lynch shared Friday on KNBR 680’s “Murph & Markus.”
“We’ve got enough bodies,” Lynch said of the 49ers’ defensive line depth. “We were deep there as well and we have enough bodies. Yetur Gross-Matos is trending in the right direction to come back. Hargrave, potentially if we can get ourselves in the playoffs, there’s a potential chance he might come back. I know he’s working towards that. Those things are way off, but in the interim, we have enough guys.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan initially told reporters shortly after Hargrave’s injury in San Francisco’s Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that the 31-year-old had an outside chance to return should the 49ers make a deep playoff run. Now four weeks removed from the injury, it appears Hargrave is progressing well enough to where that could be a reality.
The 49ers (3-4), of course, must make the playoffs first before they can even think about Hargrave returning this season.
But if they do go on another deep run, as they have in four of the five previous seasons, Hargrave could bring a much-needed boost to the defensive line.
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