49ers' Brock Purdy remains limited by toe injury, could miss fourth straight game

Purdy missed the next three games and now is in danger of sitting out again this week when San Francisco (5-2) visits Houston (2-4) on Sunday.

"It is different dealing with a toe, but I’d say it’s steadily getting better each week,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday.

Mac Jones has started in place of Purdy and has led the Niners to four wins in five starts so far this season. Jones leads the NFL averaging 280.8 yards passing per game.

The 49ers also had several key players who were unable to practice because of injuries, including a new report with starting cornerback Deommodore Lenoir out with a quadriceps injury. Shanahan said he was hopeful that Lenoir could return to practice Thursday.

Receiver Ricky Pearsall remains sidelined by a knee injury that has kept him out of the past three games, with Shanahan saying the injury is not healing as quickly as the team had hoped.

Defensive end Bryce Huff, center Jake Brendel and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos all missed practice with hamstring injuries and are out for this week.

Huff and Brendel got hurt in the win against Atlanta last week, creating even more holes for the injury-riddled team.

San Francisco is already missing its top pass rusher with Nick Bosa out for the season with a knee injury and now will be without Huff, who leads the team with four sacks.

That adds responsibility for rookie Mykel Williams to generate more pressure, as well as on defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to generate pressure with blitzes of other packages.

“You’ve got to get creative at times and you need other guys to go," Shanahan said. "It has to do with a lot of stuff. Bryce is definitely our guy who can win the fastest right now. I do think other guys can do it and it doesn’t just go to rush and blitzes. It also goes to coverage. ... It definitely hurts losing Bryce for this time with his hamstring being out. But, it's an opportunity for other guys to step up. We’ve had that every week at a number of positions and those guys have continued to do it.”

Matt Hennessy will make his first start since 2022 when he fills in at center for Brendel. Hennessy fared well in his relief effort against the Falcons.

Roster moves

The 49ers opened the practice window for backup offensive lineman Spencer Burford, who has been on injured reserve with a knee injury. Burford was limited at practice on Wednesday.

San Francisco also did some roster juggling at edge rusher, promoting Robert Beal from the practice squad to the active roster and releasing Trevis Gipson from the 53-man roster and signing him back to the practice squad. Gipson is likely to be elevated for the game this week with Huff sidelined.

The Niners also signed linebacker Stone Blanton to the practice squad. Blanton spent time with the team in training camp.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl