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Nick Wagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the starting quarterback, Brock Purdy, gradually recovers from the injury to his right toe, an ailment that has sidelined him since the fourth week of the season, the San Francisco 49ers are set to rely on their reserve quarterback, Mac Jones, this coming Sunday when they face the Houston Texans.
This game will mark Jones’s sixth start in the current season and his fourth consecutive start, filling in for Purdy, who experienced a worsening of the toe injury initially sustained in Week 1.
Throughout the week, Purdy participated in practice sessions on a restricted level each day, mirroring his routine from the previous week. However, he was formally declared unavailable in the injury report released on Friday.
Coach Kyle Shanahan commented that Purdy has demonstrated improvement, though at a gradual pace. He emphasized that the ambiguous nature of the toe injury has complicated the process of determining an exact return date.
“Dealing with a toe is a unique challenge,” Shanahan noted. “However, I would say that it is consistently showing signs of advancement each week.”
In a departure from previous weeks, Purdy is slated to accompany the team to Houston for the upcoming game. Shanahan pointed out that Purdy is “two weeks healthier” compared to the Niners’ previous away game in Tampa, Florida, against the Buccaneers.
Similar to the pattern seen throughout the season, Purdy is not the sole prominent Niner player who will be absent during the game against the Texans.
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (right knee), defensive ends Bryce Huff (hamstring) and Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring), along with center Jake Brendel (hamstring), have also been officially ruled out for Friday. Similar to Purdy, Pearsall will be missing his fourth consecutive game, as his recovery has been progressing more slowly than initially anticipated by the Niners.
“I don’t believe it’s a setback,” Shanahan clarified. “It’s simply not progressing as rapidly as we had hoped. But there haven’t been any new developments.”
Nevertheless, the Niners might receive some encouraging injury-related updates regarding their wide receiver position in the near future. Shanahan mentioned on Friday that Brandon Aiyuk could potentially resume practice next week. He remains on the list of players unable to perform physically due to the knee injury he suffered in the previous season.
“I believe he’s getting much closer,” Shanahan stated. “It might be [next week]. I think we’re assessing it on a week-by-week basis currently, so we’re hopeful it will be sooner rather than later.”
Shanahan stated on Monday that Brendel and Huff are expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks following hamstring injuries sustained during the previous weekend’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. Gross-Matos sustained his injury during a Week 5 victory against the Los Angeles Rams and remains unavailable.
In other injury-related news, the 49ers received more encouraging updates regarding their cornerback unit, which has been dealing with multiple injuries. Starting players Renardo Green (toe), Upton Stout (ankle), and Deommodore Lenoir (quad) were either limited in practice or missed at least one practice session during the week. However, Green and Stout participated fully by the end of the week and do not have an injury designation, while Lenoir is listed as questionable after missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday but participating on a limited basis on Friday.
Shanahan noted that Lenoir is “progressing in the right direction” and “I am quite optimistic about his chances” of playing on Sunday. Linebacker Luke Gifford (hamstring) and offensive lineman Spencer Burford (knee) are also listed as questionable. San Francisco initiated Burford’s 21-day practice window on Wednesday, as he has been designated to return from the injured reserve list.
