MOBILE, Ala. -- The San Francisco 49ers received some unfortunate injury news heading into the offseason. John Lynch revealed on Thursday that Weston Richburg (knee/quad) and D.J. Reed (shoulder) are expected to miss the entire offseason program following offseason surgeries.
Richburg was slowed by a knee injury all season. Upon further evaluation, there was work that needed to get done on his quad as well. Reed was diagnosed with a torn labrum and will have surgery this Friday. Lynch said that it's usually a six-month recovery for such an injury. The hope is that both players will be ready for training camp.
"That was a bummer because D.J. really needs the reps, but you have to take care of it, so better now than later," Lynch said.
Reed played in 15 games as a rookie but started two contests down the stretch at nickel corner in place of the injured K'Waun Williams. He finished the year with 41 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack. Lynch said that he was excited about the way Reed came on at the end of the season. San Francisco hopes to continue to utilize his versatility at nickel and at free safety rather than pigeonhole him at one spot.
"That helps your roster makeup," Lynch said. "I think he has skills that lend him to being successful at both of those. Most of all, he's a guy who goes full throttle. He's very skilled, and he helped raise the energy of our team. He plays so fast and fearless. I thought he and a number of other young players brought a little juice to what we were doing. That was cool."
Richburg still projects to be the 49ers Week 1 starter at center in 2019. Erik Magnuson and Najee Toran will fill in at center during the offseason program. Bringing back veteran offensive lineman Mike Person is another option. Person started all 16 games at right guard in 2018 but also has previous experience at center. He's an impending free agent.
"Mike played well for us," Lynch said. "He was valuable for us, so we'd be interested in trying to do something there."
As for the progress of Jerick McKinnon and Jimmy Garoppolo, Lynch said that the rehab process for both players is going "exceptionally well." Neither player has had a setback. Lynch hopes that both will be available for the start of training camp. Garoppolo could potentially get some work in during OTAs.
The one final injury note is on Garrett Celek, who had thumb surgery following the season. Lynch called it a "straight forward thing," and it doesn't sound like Celek will miss any of the offseason program.
