SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Quarterback Brock Purdy will miss his sixth straight start for the San Francisco 49ers with a toe injury, but could be available in a backup role on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Purdy has been limited in practice the past few weeks and has gotten some time with the starters. Coach Kyle Shanahan is still waiting to see whether he will feel good enough to suit up in a backup role.
"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,” Shanahan said.
Mac Jones will once again get the start in his place for a key division showdown. Jones is 5-2 as a starter this season in place of Purdy, who initially hurt his toe in the season opener and re-injured it in a Week 4 loss to Jacksonville after missing the previous two games.
The 49ers will also once again be without receiver Ricky Pearsall, who will miss his sixth straight game with a knee injury. Shanahan initially hoped Pearsall would miss only a couple of games, but the injury has not healed as fast as the team expected.
“He can run and hit certain speeds, but he hasn’t been able to hit his normal speeds that would allow him to come back,” Shanahan said. "We don’t let people come back until they can hit their normal speeds before they got hurt or it makes them susceptible to injury again. We’re just waiting until he hits those markers.”
The 49ers will get some key players back this week led by defensive end Bryce Huff, who missed the past two games with a hamstring injury. Left guard Ben Bartch will be activated from injured reserve on Saturday for the first time since injuring his ankle in Week 2, but might not start ahead of Spencer Burford.
San Francisco will place rookie defensive end Mykel Williams on IR after he had a season-ending knee injury last week to create an open roster spot for Bartch.
Center Jake Brendel also will be back after missing two games with a hamstring injury.
The 49ers have several players who are questionable for the game, including linebackers Dee Winters (knees) and Tatum Bethune (thigh); and defensive linemen Keion White (groin), Alfred Collins (hip) and Kalia Davis (ankle).
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us to meet Simi Monheit, the author of The Goldie Standard, and the 2024 Winner of the … Read moreMeet the Award-Winning Author of The Goldie Standard
All SMUHSD, staff, parents, and community members are invited to a panel discussion on dam r… Read moreWater is Life: Victories and Challenges in Water Equity in an Age of Climate Change
Mike Caggiano said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.