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Nick Wagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy returned to practice Wednesday, the first significant step in the direction of a potential return from the toe injury he aggravated in Week 4.
Purdy, who is expected to be limited according to coach Kyle Shanahan, initially injured the toe in a Week 1 win against the Seattle Seahawks. He missed two games and returned against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 28 but aggravated the injury in that game and has not played or practiced since.
The absence of Purdy, paired with injuries to backup Mac Jones (knee/oblique) has left the Niners practicing without their top two quarterbacks for chunks of the season. On Wednesday, Jones was also limited though Shanahan indicated Jones would do more than Purdy.
“Brock is more limited than Mac,” Shanahan said. “Injuries frustrate people but Brock is handling it right like he does everything. I know he’s itching to get back.”
Before that Week 4 contest, the opposite was true as Jones was more limited during the week than Purdy with Purdy eventually starting.
Purdy and Jones will continue to be monitored as the week goes on with the Niners having a bit of extra rest because they play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football with an 8:20 pm ET kickoff.
There’s a real chance that whichever quarterback starts against the Falcons will have a key part of the offense returning in the form of tight end George Kittle. The Niners officially opened Kittle’s 21-day practice window on Wednesday and they’re hoping to have Kittle available against Atlanta.
Even during the team’s Wednesday morning walkthrough, multiple Niners said Kittle’s energy was palpable as he works his way back from what Shanahan called a “big” hamstring pull. “I think it would be great (to get Kittle back),” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “His presence is felt in every aspect of the game and his energy is so great so it would be great to have him back out there.”
Meanwhile. Linebacker Fred Warner had surgery on his dislocated and broken right ankle on Tuesday. Shanahan has indicated the recovery process could take about three months but said it’s too early to set any definitive timeline.
“Just talking to everyone, they said (surgery) went great,” Shanahan said. “I just threw out there three months but we haven’t thought about that yet. He just had surgery yesterday so we’ll see how that goes but not thinking about that right now.”
Elsewhere on the 49ers injury report, receivers Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Skyy Moore (ankle) were not expected to practice, per Shanahan. In addition to Purdy, Kittle and Jones, other Niners slated to be limited are receivers Jauan Jennings (ribs, ankle, shoulder) Jordan Watkins (calf), guard Dominick Puni (knee), defensive tackles Kevin Givens (pectoral), CJ West (thumb) and Kalia Davis (hand) and cornerback Renardo Green (neck).
