Mac Jones could not throw during Thursday’s practice. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan remained optimistic that his backup quarterback would be available this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
“Yeah, he wasn’t able [to throw] today, so he just focused on handoffs and stuff like that. So, really trying to rest it up. Should be good to go on Sunday, but definitely wasn’t good enough to go today. So hopefully, that’ll continue to improve.”
Jones is expected to start his second game in a row and fourth of the season, while Brock Purdy remains sidelined with a toe injury.
Jones may or may not have Jauan Jennings as a target. That’s a decision that could take right up to the 90-minute mark before inactives have to be announced before kickoff. Here’s Shanahan on Jennings’ potential ability:
I think it’s close to the same thing as last week. You know, having more time to do this definitely has a better chance. He was able to do a few things today, but I think that one will come down to the wire.
The Niners having a couple of extra days between games could be the difference for Jones, Jennings, and, hopefully, a couple of other players suiting up.
Ricky Pearsall may have to wait another week. We’ll see if Pearsall is upgraded to limited on Friday. It was a good sign that Jennings practiced on Thursday. The 49ers will need all of the firepower they can get against a team they’ll need to go score for score against.
You can listen to Kyle Shanahan’s full interview on KNBR from Thursday here.
