This could potentially be a damaging sign for the San Francisco 49ers second half opponents. The team’s general manager Trent Baalke indicated on a local radio station that injured All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman recently ran a 4.50 40-yard dash during his rehab.
I talked to him (Bowman) in the weight room the other day before I left,” Baalke began, “and he was all excited because he had gotten to run a full-speed 40 (yard dash) for the first time in a long time and was in the 4.5 (second) range. So he was all excited.
While there is no timetable for Bowman’s return from a devastating knee injury he suffered against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game this past January, the expectation is that he will be able to return at some point next month.
As it relates to the lightning-quick 40-yard dash, that’s a better than expected result for Bowman, who ran a 4.72 time back in 2010. He’s someone that does rely on that speed, so it’s definitely a good sign for the 49ers and the All-Pro linebacker.
For comparison’s sake, rookie running back Carlos Hyde ran a 4.66 40-yard dash at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine. In addition to that, current 49ers kick returner Bruce Ellington was clocked in at 4.45 during the combine in Indianapolis.
If you want to take it one step further, Jadeveon Clowney, who has long been considered an athletic freak, ran a slower speed at the combine than what Baalke reported Bowman ran recently.
The moral of the story is that Bowman seems to be in the best shape of his career. And to be perfectly honest, that’s just scary considering he has been among the best all-around players in the NFL over the past couple seasons.
Photo: USA Today