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Nick Wagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — With kickoff against the Los Angeles Rams two days away, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is unsure whether he will play. But he said Tuesday afternoon it’s too early to rule him out.
“Honestly, Thursday night football games, they come quick, so anything can happen,” Purdy said. “But I’m still hopeful that I can. We’ll see.”
Purdy returned from the toe injury that kept him out in Weeks 2 and 3 on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars and said after the game he didn’t really have pain issues with the toe during that contest. As Sunday night wore on, though, soreness began to set in, and Purdy called coach Kyle Shanahan that night to let him know about it.
Shanahan then revealed Monday morning that Purdy was battling toe soreness. With a short turnaround to Thursday’s game against the Rams, Purdy has less time to recover than he would in a normal week and the Niners have listed him as a non-participant in practice each of the past two days.
Purdy said if the game was played Tuesday night, he wouldn’t be able to go but noted he still has two more days to recover. The 49ers held a walk-through Tuesday and don’t have any full speed practices before Thursday night.
“If I can play this game, I want to play,” Purdy said. “Obviously, I want to get right and get healthy and everything, but we need to win this game against the Rams. So that’s how I’m looking at it.”
The 3-1 Niners enter the NFC West showdown with the 3-1 Rams plenty banged up but they also are 2-0 in the division and another victory in it, particularly on the road, would go a long way in shaping their season, especially with a few days off before a difficult road trip to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.
Shanahan said Tuesday that the decision on whether to start Purdy or backup Mac Jones, who is no longer limited in practice with a sprained knee, will be a matter of how Purdy is feeling as the week progresses.
“It’ll come down to do we feel he could play and to a 100% of his ability and do we feel that he can protect himself with it?” Shanahan said.
Purdy said he didn’t do any one thing to aggravate the toe against the Jaguars. Rather, it was an accumulation of playing in a game and he expected there to be some level of soreness afterward. He added that the toe still feels “a lot better” compared to when he first injured it in a Week 1 win against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I sort of expected [soreness],” Purdy said. “But quick turnaround, Thursday night game and everything, it’s tougher. You don’t have as many days to get right and heal up and feel better. That’s just where we’re at.”
If Purdy can’t go, the Niners would again turn to Jones to start in his place. Jones led the Niners to victories against the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals with Purdy out earlier this season and said Tuesday he’s feeling much better from the knee issue that had him doing little in practice last week.
This is the third straight week the Niners have had at least some uncertainty about the starting quarterback this close to a game. According to Jones, that does come with some challenges, but he keeps his focus on preparing regardless.
“That’s your job as a backup and you’re not playing the first snap if you’re backing up and then everything else is fair game,” Jones said. “I definitely approach it that way. I have a good system that I believe in, and the coaches definitely have us ready to play. So that’s your job as a quarterback whether you’re a starter or backup.”
Whoever starts at quarterback could also be working with a short-handed skill position group once again. Receivers Jauan Jennings (ribs, ankle) and Ricky Pearsall (knee) were listed as non-participants in practice again Tuesday and the 49ers are already without star tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and Brandon Aiyuk (knee).
