Kwon Alexander suffered a pectoral injury four days after J.J. Watt experienced a similar injury two months ago.
The Houston Texans defensive lineman is slated to make his return this weekend in the Wild Card Round. Alexander hopes similarly to don a San Francisco 49ers jersey on the field some point this January.
Alexander returned to practice Thursday, opening the window for his possible playoff return. The 49ers linebacker said Watt's return has sparked belief he can make his own comeback.
"I talked to him and I'm happy to see him back," Alexander said of Watt, via the team's official website. "I can't wait to see him play on Saturday. He lifted me up too a little bit. So I appreciate him.
"I got his phone number from a teammate just to get in contact with him and see what he's been doing and stuff like that. You see that he's back and he's been doing well."
All injuries are different, as are the jobs Watt and Alexander are tasked to perform. Just because Watt can return, doesn't mean Alexander will be medically cleared from an injury that normally wipes out a player's entire campaign.
"I just love the team. I love the game," Alexander said. "It's hard to take me away from the game. It wasn't my leg. It wasn't my ACL or my knee, so I was able to move around. It didn't hurt that bad after surgery. So everything was cool. I was able to get around and stay around my teammates and keep them hyped and keep this thing going, as they've been doing. They've been holding it down so far."
Earning a bye along with the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC gives the Niners another week to see if Alexander could return for a postseason run in the Divisional Round.
"Whatever coach tells me, I'm going to be ready for whatever situation it is," he said.
If Alexander is able to return, he could provide a big boost to a defense that has fallen off a bit from its standards early in the 2019 campaign as injuries began to thin Robert Saleh's unit.
