The San Francisco 49ers are currently trending to start quarterback Brock Purdy for the first time since Week 4 this weekend when they face the Arizona Cardinals on the road.
Purdy, who has been limited in practice for the last few weeks as he’s ramped up following a toe injury, has now had one ‘aggressive’ practice, with Thursday and Friday being the second and third before San Francisco makes a final decision on its starting quarterback. But, the signs point to Purdy making his return from a turf toe-like injury.
It was a tough start to the year for the 25-year-old, as Purdy suffered the toe injury back in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks before aggravating it against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4 when coming back. That has led the 49ers to an overly cautious approach as they got Purdy back to near 100 percent, although head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged he may not get there until after the season.
“That’s why we’ve handled it this way,” Shanahan said about Purdy’s injury and being aware of when he’s ready to play. “It has to do more with kind of what he tells me and then what I see.”
With the injury risk and the 49ers’ plan over the last few weeks, will they look to be cautious with Purdy in his first start back from injury?
A big part of Purdy’s game is the mobility aspect and extending plays, which is how he re-aggravated the injury back in Week 4. Shanahan doesn’t plan to limit that part if Purdy is back on Sunday.
“No, [there are no limitations],” Shanahan said on Wednesday. “If that was the case, he wouldn’t come back. I think when you have to, if you’ve got to tell a guy to not be mobile and to stay out of situations, it’s kind of hard to be successful. When a guy gets out on that field, he’s got to react and play. If he doesn’t feel that way, which I’ll watch from practice and talking to him, then he won’t go.”
That’s been a part of the reason that San Francisco hasn’t started Purdy the last few weeks, despite him practicing on all three days of the week in limited fashion.
Another potential question is about Purdy ‘pressing’, given the pressure of how Mac Jones has looked. It felt like Purdy played that way back in Week 4 when he had another multiple-interception game, and the stakes will be higher now after several quality weeks for his backup.
While Shanahan and Purdy haven’t had a conversation about it, the head coach isn’t too worried about the mental aspect for his quarterback.
“We haven’t talked about that,” Shanahan acknowledged. “Things we’ve talked about are just making sure when you come back that you feel 100 percent so you don’t have to worry about anything like that. If Brock’s feeling 100 percent and confident in that way, then I think he’s got nothing to worry about on a game.”
It seems like Purdy is ready to return for the 49ers this weekend, assuming the next two days go smoothly. He arrives at a crucial point in the season for San Francisco, with the next four games seeming close to must-wins to get to the coveted 10 wins for a playoff spot.
First up is the Arizona Cardinals, who presented a challenge in Week 3 and will look to pose another one this weekend in Glendale.
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