The San Francisco 49ers are giving starting quarterback Brock Purdy a chance to play this week against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football, but even their general manager does not seem overly confident in his status.
Purdy suffered a setback with his turf toe injury during Week 4’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars despite playing the entire game. While Purdy had said his toe felt fine after the game, he called Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan on Sunday night to inform him that his toe injury was once again bothering him, casting doubt on his status in a short week.
“Hopefully we’ll find out more later today, but any time guys are sore and hurting on a Monday, you usually don’t stress too much about it,” Shanahan told reporters Monday morning. “But anytime you have a Thursday game, it’s a totally different element.”
Unfortunately, Niners general manager John Lynch didn’t sound any more confident that Purdy would play against the Rams when speaking about him Tuesday morning.
“We will take every precaution to make sure Brock’s all right,” Lynch told KNBR on Tuesday. “I think he is, now it’s just a matter of can he turn it around on a short week?”
Lynch added that the 49ers will list Purdy as questionable for Thursday’s game against the Rams, which he said is a “true reflection of where he’s at right now.
Brock Purdy Looked Off in Return Game vs. Jaguars
Purdy may have played the entire game against the Jaguars last Sunday, but the 49ers‘ $265 million quarterback didn’t quite look himself in his return to the starting lineup.
Purdy completed just 57.9% of his throws (22-of-38) for 309 yards and two touchdowns and tossed a pair of interceptions that the Jaguars turned into 10 points on the ensuing drives. He also missed a 4th-and-2 throw to turn the ball over on downs and lost the ball on a strip sack with roughly three minutes to play, which sealed the Niners’ defeat.
While Purdy’s toe likely had an impact on his poor performance, the Niners may factor his rough start into their decision-making at quarterback heading into the short week.
If Purdy cannot play Thursday, Mac Jones would be in line to start at quarterback for the 49ers against the Rams. He threw for 563 yards and four touchdowns in his first two spot-starts for Purdy this season, guiding the Niners to victory in both games.
“Mac’s doing well,” Lynch said. “Mac’s been really good for us in every respect. And the way he’s been going about his rehab with the knee situation he’s been dealing with has been no different. He’s tireless with his work. I think Mac’s in a good spot to back up or play [against the Rams], if need be.”
Niners Will Also List Ricky Pearsall as Questionable
Purdy was not the only injury concern for the 49ers coming out of Week 4’s loss.
The Niners also saw former first-round wide receiver Ricky Pearsall exit against the Jaguars with a knee injury. According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, the initial belief is that Pearsall suffered a “minor PCL” injury in the loss. He had come into the matchup with a questionable designation of a knee injury that slowed him in the week of practice.
While Lynch said Pearsall is also questionable for Week 5, whether he will play against the Rams this week could depend on a pregame decision, based on his knee’s condition.
“We all saw Ricky get banged up during that game,” Lynch said. “Ricky’s listed as questionable. On this short week, like I said, players were in here for rehab and all that, got evaluated, but I think he’s listed as questionable, too, so we’ll see how far he can get on the short week and see if he can get out there. I know Ricky’s dying to get out there.”
49ers Give Shaky Update on QB Brock Purdy for Week 5 Matchup