With one of the most important games of the season on the horizon, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had a concerning day of practice Thursday. Reporters saw Purdy look uncomfortable throwing a couple of passes before practice officially started. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported that a Niners trainer “was seen rubbing Purdy’s throwing shoulder.” Purdy then left the field early.
As if that weren’t enough cause for concern, the 24-year-old was scheduled to speak to the media after practice for his weekly presser but never came to the podium. The team later announced that Purdy wouldn’t speak Thursday and that the quarterback presser would take place Friday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR in a post-practice radio interview that this practice was actually a step up from Wednesday. “He was still limited today, he didn’t do as much yesterday but did a little bit more today,” Shanahan said. “He went out there and did a little bit then went back in about halfway through and rested up.”
The question now becomes which quarterback will speak Friday. Purdy was ruled as “limited” in practice for the second day in a row, dealing with a right shoulder injury he picked up during a hit he took in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Seahawks. Shanahan has been all-in on the positive slants. On Monday, he told reporters that he didn’t think the injury affected the quarterback during the game. The coach then said Wednesday that Purdy’s limited status at practice was “good news.”
This brings us to Thursday, which, even with Shanahan’s explanation, brought more questions than answers regarding Purdy’s status for Sunday’s pivotal matchup against the Packers. For what it’s worth, the two backup quarterbacks are Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs, with Allen listed as the second-string player. Allen, 32, has very limited regular-season experience, starting nine games over five seasons and throwing for 1,611 yards, along with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, during that stretch. Dobbs, despite being a starting quarterback last season, is the third-string signal-caller.
The timing of all this is, quite frankly, pretty bad. The Niners have been dealing with injuries all season, but the one constant through 10 games was Purdy, at least until this recent situation. Now, that possibility might be going away just as the Niners head into the toughest pair of games this season with a game at Green Bay this Sunday and a game at Buffalo the following week. The Packers are hankering for revenge after last season’s devastating playoff loss, and the Bills are one of the best teams in football, with one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Josh Allen, playing at an MVP level.
In the midst of a tight NFC West – the Cardinals lead the division at 6-4, with the other three teams tied at 5-5 – the Niners cannot afford to cede any ground if they hope to simply make the playoffs. Losing Purdy, even if it’s just for Sunday, puts them at strong risk of a three-game losing streak. There’s always a chance that Thursday was a blip in what will otherwise be a week of practice ahead of a healthy Purdy arriving on Sunday. But right now, it’s hard to see the glass even that half full.
