49ers notebook: Sherman feeling healthy as he’s used at safety; Samuel practices

The 49ers didn’t ease All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman back into the mix after missing nine games. In fact, they put more on his plate, and even had him switch positions in his return from a calf injury last week against the Rams.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I deny everything,” Sherman said, likely with a sarcastic smile behind his mask during Friday’s Zoom call from Arizona.

What Sherman was playfully denying was being used at safety, where he played two snaps Sunday, and on blitzes — departures for the five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro who is a stalwart at outside cornerback. He’s built a Hall-of-Fame resume at that spot.

But defensive coordinator Robert Saleh decided to mix things up, throwing the Rams a look with Sherman as the high safety on a third-down incompletion in the second quarter while San Francisco’s defense was taking it to the division leaders in last week’s upset win.

It was a victory that kept the 49ers’ unlikely playoff hopes alive, and Sherman moving around the field might be a wrinkle they continue to throw at teams to create confusion as the season winds down.

“Come on, not me,” he continued. “Not the guy that only lines up at left corner!”

Sherman relented: “No, it was fun though. It was a good time. It was a little bit of a changeup, showing them a different look and we were able to get off the field and create some chaos. Make a few adjustments that people have to game plan for. So it was fun, it was fun after 10 years of playing in the same spot, you get to mix things up.”

Using Sherman in unfamiliar roles is a good sign regarding the health of his legs (he also played 100 percent of the snaps). Specifically, Sherman dealt with a calf injury that popped up during the season opener, which is notable given his Achilles issues in 2017 and 2018. After the season opening loss to the Cardinals, he was only expected to miss a game or two, but the issue lingered and he missed nine games. He had injections in his calf in October.

Sherman declined to offer specifics regarding the injury, but he did say he turned a corner and doesn’t expect the issues to persist.

“Something was definitely solved,” he said. “It took a while to get it solved. Had a few setbacks. I’m not expecting it to be anything chronic. It was cool because we were able to get to the bottom of some deeper underlying problems and get those corrected so that we didn’t have anything in the future. It sucked in terms of the time missed, but it helped in terms of the long term prospects.”

Sherman’s long-term future with the 49ers remain somewhat in doubt. He’s a free agent in the spring, along with every other prominent cornerback on the roster, but it sounds like San Francisco would like to bring him back. And it appears Sherman has enjoyed his two-plus seasons with the red and gold after being a hated rival with the Seahawks.

“Sherm’s a guy that I know I personally, and I know John (Lynch) feels the same, we went on our team at all times,” coach Kyle Shanahan said this week. “Sherm’s a guy that when he does get older and he does descend, he’s such a good football player he finds a way.”

Said Saleh: “For his whole entire career, has always won with mind over athleticism. Not to say that he’s not an athlete or anything, but he has always played the mental part of the game and that’s why he’s able to have that longevity. He is so far ahead of everybody with regards to scheme, technique, how to play certain things and the great ones always find the ball, whether they’re in man coverage, zone coverage, it doesn’t matter. They just find the ball and there’s a reason why he has 40 interceptions in his career.”

Samuel returns to practice

Receiver Deebo Samuel was back on the practice field in Glendale, Ariz., on Friday and was a full participant after experiencing some soreness in the week. He was kept from practicing Thursday as a precaution after being sore from his 11-catch, 133-yard performance Sunday.

Shanahan has said Samuel hasn’t had much practice this season. Sunday’s game was just his fifth of the season after missing all of training camp and the makeshift conditioning program beforehand. Samuel’s only had a handful of real practices since last season’s Super Bowl because of his foot injury over the summer and October hamstring strain against the Patriots in October.

“He’s just still sore from the game,” Shanahan said Thursday. “Especially after traveling yesterday and stuff, being on a plane, we don’t want to get him out there with what’s happened to him this year and have him go full speed and risk anything with the hamstring.”

Saleh downplays Michigan Legislature’s coaching pitch

Apparently the interest in Saleh as a head coach has reached the political realm.

According to multiple reports, a group of 36 bipartisan Michigan House legislators sent an open letter to Detroit Lions owner, Sheila Ford Hamp, endorsing Saleh as the team’s next head coach in 2021 after Hamp recently fired Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn.

Saleh said it was news to him, as he didn’t hear about it until he walked off the practice field Friday.

“I don’t know what to make of it or anything like that,” he said. “It’s just whatever, I guess, you know?”

Saleh was a head coaching candidate last season when the 49ers fielded the NFL’s best pass defense, statistically, since the 2009 New York Jets. He interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, who ended up hiring former Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stafanski.

Saleh was asked Friday how he handles the outside speculation about his coaching future.

“You don’t,” he said. “This league is so week-to-week, and the most important week right now is Monday Night Football against Buffalo. And we’ve got a team that’s in the middle of the playoff hunt, so it’s really a non-issue for me. I don’t talk about it. I don’t really even see it. I don’t have social media, I don’t look into the news. So it’s probably more for family and friends to enjoy and to get a kick out of than it is for me. We’re completely locked into Buffalo.”

▪ Slot cornerback K’Waun Williams was the only 49ers player on the active roster to miss Friday’s practice. He’s already been ruled out for Monday’s game. His possible replacement, Emmanuel Moseley, was limited at practice with a hamstring injury.

Full participants Friday: receiver Brandon Aiyuk (not injury related), defensive tackle D.J. Jones (not injury related), Samuel (hamstring) and defensive end Jordan Willis (not injury related).