The San Francisco 49ers don’t expect defensive end Dee Ford to play in their remaining regular-season games. But that doesn’t mean the 2019 NFL season is over for the former Auburn standout.

Ford returned to the field on Sunday after a hamstring injury had sidelined him for two games. But in the 49ers' 48-46 victory over the New Orleans Saints, Ford played only four defensive snaps.

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said Ford had “reaggravated” the hamstring injury.

“It’s going to probably take a little bit longer than it did last time,” Shanahan said about Ford’s possible return date. “Probably be at least three weeks.”

Only three more weeks remain on the NFL's 2019 regular-season schedule. Fortunately for Ford and the 49ers, San Francisco's season probably won't end with their Dec. 29 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

At 11-2, the 49ers own the best record in the NFC, although their lead on the Seahawks in the NFC West is only one game.

San Francisco could wrap up a playoff berth by beating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. And even if they lose to the Falcons, the 49ers would be locked into the postseason if the Los Angeles Rams lose to the Dallas Cowboys or the Green Bay Packers lose to the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings lose to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

The 49ers could use some breathing room. In addition to losing Ford in the game against the Saints, San Francisco had cornerback Richard Sherman leave with a hamstring injury, cornerback K'Waun Williams enter the concussion protocol and center Weston Richburg suffer a season-ending knee injury.

“It was a huge win, and we enjoyed that a ton, obviously,” Shanahan said on Monday, "but some mixed feelings today with some of these injuries, which is tough, especially losing Richburg for the year. The other guys got some serious ones, too.

"Hopefully, we can keep playing well so we can give them a chance to come back and help us if we can make our season longer than three games."

The 49ers already were playing without wide receivers Marquise Goodwin and Dante Pettis, safety Jaquiski Tartt and defensive tackle Julian Taylor because of injuries. Goodwin went on injured reserve on Tuesday, but San Francisco hopes to get the other players back on the field.

Tartt suffered broken ribs tackling Baltimore Ravens running back Mark Ingram on Dec. 1, and Shanahan said the 49ers will “see on Wednesday” how the former Davidson High School and Samford standout is feeling.

A former St. Clair County High School star, Ford joined the 49ers from the Kansas City Chiefs in March, when San Francisco swapped a second-round choice in the 2020 NFL Draft to obtain him.

The Chiefs selected Ford in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. In his fifth season, Ford recorded 13 sacks and 29 quarterback hits and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles. Kansas City used its franchise tag on Ford to keep him from leaving in free agency, then traded him to San Francisco.

The 49ers signed Ford to a five-year, $85.5 million contract, but his first season in San Francisco has been hampered by injuries. Knee tendinitis kept him sidelined for about a month during the training camp/preseason period.

Although the previous two games were the only ones that he's missed in 2019, Ford has appeared on the 49ers' injury report for all but one week of the season and has been listed on the Wednesday-through-Friday reports as a full participant in practice six times, a non-participant 10 times and a limited participant for all other practices. Ford has played 28 percent of the 49ers' defensive snaps this season.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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