49ers’ Brock Purdy gets brutal injury update from head coach Kyle Shanahan originally appeared on The Sporting News
It’s the last thing the San Francisco 49ers needed. They just spent the whole 2024 season with more injuries than they could handle en route to a 6-11 record.
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But then Week 1 happened, a Phyrric victory over the Seattle Seahawks if there ever was one. George Kittle is hurt. Jauan Jennings is hurt. And worst of all: Brock Purdy is hurt.
He came out of the game with injuries to his left shoulder and to an unspecified toe.
And now, he’s a “long shot” to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. And it’s very possible it’ll be a multi-week absence, Shanahan added.
MORE: The fantasy football implications of Brock Purdy’s injury absence
That means that backup QB Mac Jones will likely get the start for San Francisco as the season threatens to go off the rails again.
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Ironically, it’s injury-prone running back Christian McCaffrey who is still healthy, knock on wood, and he’ll likely see a massive workload in the short term.
The 49ers have spent the last couple seasons being injured around Purdy, but this shapes up to be his first personal extended absence if the worst end of Shanahan’s prognosis comes to pass.
MORE: Meet George Kittle’s TE replacement, Jake Tonges
Jones is one of the league’s better backup quarterbacks. He was the No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the player Shanahan wanted if the 49ers hadn’t gotten Trey Lance.
In New England, Jones looked for a time like the franchise QB, but he ended up flopping and spent 2024 in Jacksonville.
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Even with the Jags, Jones showed promise, and he delivered a couple of star WR Brian Thomas Jr.’s best games.
But this is still far from ideal for the 49ers. Any time out for Purdy, their nine-figure QB who signed his big extension this offseason, is time spent with a disadvantage. And that appears to be where the 49ers find themselves right now.
