The San Francisco 49ers have a rivalry matchup ahead of them this weekend, taking on the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 1:25 p.m.
The 49ers are prepared to start quarterback
Mac Jones for the sixth straight week and eighth time this year, as Brock Purdy continues to recover from a toe injury. Purdy practiced in limited fashion for the fourth straight week and is deemed questionable this weekend, but that would only be as Jones’s backup.
It’s been a tough stretch for Purdy, who has only played in two games this season after signing a massive five-year, $265 million extension in the offseason. He seems to be making progress with his injury, continuing to record limited practices, but head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged he may not be at 100 percent this season whenever he returns.
Still, that doesn’t mean that Purdy can’t help out the team. In fact, the 49ers quarterback had a different role this week in practice: mimicking Matthew Stafford.
Purdy helped Adrian Martinez as the scout team quarterback this week, giving the defense different looks as they prepare to defend against one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.
“It’s been awesome having Brock in there,” Shanahan said about Purdy in practice, via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “He’s kind of splitting the reps of the scout team with Adrian. But just having two quarterbacks in there, especially Brock, who can make some of these plays, look people off, do some of the things Stafford does, it definitely gets them ready for him.”
San Francisco has another important matchup next weekend, facing the Arizona Cardinals, where Purdy can hopefully return. But, for now, he’s trying to help wherever he can until he gets close to 100 percent, which includes scout team work.
What will it take for the 49ers to clear Purdy to start?
“Just talking to him, which I don’t do really until Saturday, just talk about how the whole week went and stuff,” Shanahan said. “I did it last Saturday with him, and we’ll see where he is this Saturday compared to a week ago, and knowing each week’s a little bit different and seeing how much better he has gotten.”
Until then, it’ll be Mac Jones, who has gone 5-2 as the 49ers starter, including an improbable win over the Rams earlier this season when the 49ers were significant road favorites. Should the 49ers win, they could improve to 7-3 and 4-0 in the division, giving them a major edge when it comes to tiebreakers.
