San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford played the 2019 NFL season on a blown tire.2020 San Francisco 49ers football live. But after knee surgery in February, the former Auburn standout is ready to sack some quarterbacks.Ford was diagnosed with a severe case of tendinitis in the preseason, but he tried to play through it during the regular season. He ended up missing five of San Francisco’s final six regular-season games after suffering a hamstring injury.Man, it was so tough, Ford said during an online press conference on Friday, especially I was in a situation where we needed to beat Seattle and I had actually repulled my hamstring working out. And I really wanted to play in that game, even if I would just be a decoy. When the stage is that big and the stakes are that high, big-time players come out in those types of games.