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49ers' Brock Purdy 'long shot' to play in Sunday's game at Saints

Cam Inman, The Mercury News on

Published in Football

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Quarterback Brock Purdy’s toe injury makes him a “long shot” to play in the San Francisco 49ers’ game Sunday at New Orleans, and he could be out multiple games, coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday.

Purdy is also dealing with a left-shoulder injury and did not practice, but it is his toe injury that is a greater cause for concern.

Shanahan allowed it to be classified as a “turf toe” injury, noting it is both on the bottom and side of Purdy’s unspecified toe. The second-quarter injury did not prevent Purdy from playing every snap and delivering a winning touchdown pass to Jake Tonges in the closing minutes of a 17-13 season-opening win at Seattle.

Mac Jones is in line to start if Purdy can not.

“It’s still up in the air. I’m not sure who’s playing,” center Jake Brendel said. “But if it is Mac, I’m very confident in his ability to get the job done; the whole offense is very confident, the whole team is.”

“They’re real similar in terms of how they play,” Shanahan said. “Both are extremely tough, both can distribute the ball. I’m not sure who has the better 40-(yard dash) time but Purdy will say he’s he better scrambler. They’re close to similar.”

Purdy showed no signs of hindrance during Sunday’s comeback, nor in the immediate aftermath, but Shanahan said he was aware of his injuries during the game.

“I had no idea until I saw him and was talking to him yesterday,” wide receiver Ricky Pearsall said. “He’s a tough dude and isn’t going to complain very much.”

 

The toe injury occurred when tackled on a scramble near the sideline two minutes before halftime, Shanahan said.

Purdy’s left (non-throwing) shoulder was driven into the turf earlier on a second-quarter hit by Seahawks’ 315-pound defensive tackle Jarran Reed, after Purdy threw away a third-down pass toward McCaffrey and the 49ers’ sideline.

The 49ers invested a $265 million contract extension in Purdy this offseason, and he immediately delivered with touchdown passes on their first and final possessions in Seattle, where he is 4-0 as a starter. Whereas Purdy engineered a 95-yard touchdown drive on the 49ers’ first series, he won it with a 4-yard, desperation floater that backup tight end Jake Tonges snagged for the decisive points in the 17-13 win.

Purdy was at the 49ers facility Wednesday but not seen on the fields as practice began. He has missed only two starts due to injury in his career: last season’s defeats at Green Bay (No. 24, right shoulder) and at Arizona (Jan. 5 finale, right elbow). He played through a fractured rib in his victorious road debut at Seattle in December 2022, he shook off a nerve stinger in Arizona to cap the same drive with a touchdown pass, though he experienced a similar injury a week later and not finish out a Christmas Night loss to Baltimore.

Of course, his biggest injury was a torn elbow ligament in the 2022 season’s NFC Championship Game loss at Philadelphia, where he was forced back in as an emergency option once the Eagles injured his only backup, Josh Johnson.

“Whether Brock is playing or not, it comes down to everybody executing at a high level and keeping it that simple,” running back Christian McCaffrey said.

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