{"id":21634,"date":"2024-12-28T01:45:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T01:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=21634"},"modified":"2024-12-28T01:45:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T01:45:05","slug":"49ers-give-birthday-boy-purdy-a-patchwork-offensive-line-for-home-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=21634","title":{"rendered":"49ers give birthday-boy Purdy a patchwork offensive line for home finale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SANTA CLARA \u2013 Practicing behind a patchwork line is not how Brock Purdy dreamed of spending his 25th birthday Friday, never mind that he just gifted 49ers linemen a caravan of trucks and sports-utility vehicles on two-year leases.<\/p>\n

The 49ers are poised to field their most inexperienced offensive line in at least coach Kyle Shanahan\u2019s eight seasons.<\/p>\n

Monday night\u2019s chore for whoever blocks: protect Purdy and clear lanes for ball carriers Isaac Guerendo and Deebo Samuel against the NFC-leading Detroit Lions at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

Injuries have so thoroughly depleted the Niners (6-9) that 3-of-5 spots could feature linemen making their 49ers\u2019 starting debuts. The only healthy starters are center Jake Brendel and right guard Dominick Puni, who offensive line coach Chris Foerster plans on keeping that duo in their regular roles while \u201cplugging in three guys around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore anything, it\u2019s communicating them about the cadence and timing of plays, just helping them in that regard, and talking to them at lunch,\u201d Purdy said. \u201cIt\u2019s new, it\u2019s different, it\u2019s a tough situation, but this is the NFL so we have to adapt and be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Foerster entered his press conference after Friday\u2019s practice, he quipped to reporters: \u201cIf there\u2019s five of you, we can have a tryout right now. \u2026 It\u2019s a challenge for me but a great opportunity for guys entering the lienup to show what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left tackle Trent Williams and his backup, Jaylon More, both went this week on injured reserve, which is where left guard Aaron Banks (knee) is expected to land before Monday night\u2019s 5:15 p.m. kickoff. Right tackle Colton McKivitz did not practice Thursday, after being limited by a knee issue, and versatile backup Spencer Burford remains sidelined with a calf injury from subbing at left tackle in Sunday\u2019s loss at Miami. Offensive linemen Ben Bartch and Jon Feliciano also are on injured reserve.<\/p>\n

Nick Zakelj is expected to make the first start of his career, most likely at left guard. \u201cI know it\u2019s just an amazing opportunity to have,\u201d Zakelj said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to go grasp it and go out there, fly off the ball and let it loose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Heck, poached Wednesday off the Arizona Cardinals\u2019 practice squad, made 21 career starts for the Houston Texans from 2020-23, and Thursday acquisition Matt Hennessy made 22 starts as the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 2020-22 center. No other linemen have starting experience, including Zakelj, Austen Pleasants, Sebastian Gutierrez, Isaac Alarcon and undrafted rookie center Drake Nugent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the pass game, I can do my part getting the ball out, being on time and help them establish their feet within the game,\u201d\u00a0 Purdy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you lose offensive linemen, it limits you to certain things you can and can\u2019t do. But our game plan is fun,\u201d tight end George Kittle said. \u201cThere are a lot of things we haven\u2019t done for a while that we\u2019ll be able to pull out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting he felt before the season the 49ers had nine starting-caliber linemen, Foerster said: \u201cThat was good depth to have. That depth now has been blown out of the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

PURDY\u2019S \u2018MNF\u2019 MESSAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Purdy channeled his childhood in a motivational message to teammates on his birthday. Specifically, he brought up the aura of playing on \u201cMonday Night Football,\u201d which he\u2019ll do for just the fourth time in his career and second this season (see: Week 1 win over the Jets). Purdy said his message was: \u201cMan, our season\u2019s been tough, just the way it\u2019s gone. But we have two games left. We have a Monday night game in front of everybody to go out and live a childhood dream.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201d \u2018We\u2019re all in our 20s and 30s playing football for our jobs, so let\u2019s go out there. We have such a great opportunity in front of us to enjoy this game, compete, and let\u2019s enjoy it together. The little kid in me is always pumped for these kind of games. I\u2019ll never take it for granted. More than anything, that\u2019s when Levi\u2019s gets rolling and rocking. I want to do my part in helping it get to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

LYNCH\u2019S STATE OF FRANCHISE<\/strong><\/p>\n

General manager John Lynch, speaking for the first time since Sunday\u2019s official elimination from the playoffs, is in the investigation process of examining the 49ers\u2019 2024 woes and potential cures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019re here, but we are. We have to accept that. We have to learn from that,\u201d Lynch said on KNBR 680-AM. \u201cWe can\u2019t just chalk it up to, \u2018There were a lot of injuries.\u2019 The team we\u2019re playing, Detroit, they had a lot of injuries but they found a way. We have to look at the root, and we have been looking at the root causes. We\u2019ll fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One obvious issue is the 49ers\u2019 inability to close out games, something that\u2019s carried over from past playoff defeats to this season\u2019s four NFC West defeats. Lynch noted that the absences of All-Pros Williams and Christian McCaffrey factors into that. \u201cBut we can\u2019t chalk it up to just that. We have to go deeper,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cThere are ways we could have gotten it done. When you have division opponents (down) multiple scores, you have to put people away, and that\u2019s what we didn\u2019t do this year. We have to own that. We have to get to the bottom of why exactly that happened, with every decision we make.\u201d<\/p>\n

HEALTH CENTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk did not practice because of illness. Juszczyk has played every game this season after taking a pay cut in the spring. He is aiming for his ninth straight Pro Bowl invitation.<\/p>\n

Also not practicing were Banks, McKivitz, defensive end Robert Beal (ankle) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who coach Kyle Shanahan has ruled out for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

Running back Isaac Guerendo participated in a second straight practice and looks on track to make his third career start. Also limited were safety Ji\u2019Ayir Brown (ankle) and defensive end Leonard Floyd (shoulder).<\/p>\n

Running back David Montgomery (knee) was the only player on the Lions\u2019 active roster not to practice. Cornerback Terrion Arnold (illness) was limited after missing Thursday\u2019s session. Full participants were guard Graham Glasgow (knee), wide receiver Kalif Raymond (foot) and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck).<\/p>\n

GAMEDAY GUIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Levi\u2019s Stadium parking lots are to open at 1:45 p.m. Stadium gates open 30 minutes later for club- and suite-ticket holders, with entry for all others starting at 3:15 p.m. Halftime entertainment will feature MIMS and Freedom Williams (from the C+C Music Factory). Tony Lindsay will perform the national anthem.<\/p>\n

Originally Published:

As Brock Purdy celebrated his 25th birthday Friday, the 49ers struggled to field and coach up healthy offensive lineman ahead of Monday\u2019s visit by the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n49ers give birthday-boy Purdy a patchwork offensive line for home finale - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=21634\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"49ers give birthday-boy Purdy a patchwork offensive line for home finale - 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