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The San Francisco 49ers will do their best to supplement the loss of Nick Bosa, but there’s no replacing a player of his caliber. Budding star wide receiver Ricky Pearsall popped up on the injury report on Wednesday afternoon, but it appears to be more precautionary than anything.
If all goes well, Brock Purdy will make his home debut this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In an ideal world, he’s throwing to Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, and Demarcus Robinson. In a perfect world, two months from now, that group will include Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle.
The 49ers won a road game and a divisional game with a backup quarterback. That hasn’t been a given under this regime. If we give him a little leeway and ignore the first two rebuilding years, Kyle Shanahan’s record without Brock Purdy or Jimmy Garoppolo as a starter was 4-9. Yes, there are meaningless Week 18 games baked into that record, but it’s still below .500 no matter how you slice it.
When considering the direction the 49ers are headed, keep in mind that six games are remaining until the trade deadline. Here’s who they play:
Jaguars
Rams
Buccaneers
Falcons
Texans
Giants
The Rams game is the only one of those where San Francisco wouldn’t be favored to win by oddsmakers. There’s a mini-bye week after their date with Sean McVay at SoFi Stadium, which will give the team a chance to catch its breath and potentially get a few players back from the Injured Reserve.
The next month will be used to evaluate the team. Those evaluations won’t be limited to Nick Bosa’s position. A lot can happen between now and then. Let’s enjoy the ride.
