Mac Jones or Brock Purdy?
That’s the question on most San Francisco 49ers fans’ minds as the team prepares for Sunday’s contest against the Los Angeles Rams. The answer—for at least this weekend—will be made by the 49ers on Friday.
Purdy has played only two games and led San Francisco to a 1-1 record. He remains sidelined by a toe injury, although his practice workload is ramping up as he potentially nears return. Head coach Kyle Shanahan says the toe injury is likely something that will bother his quarterback for the remainder of the season:
“We’re trying to ease Brock out there in the practice stuff, but anytime you’re dealing with this turf toe, it’s something that probably won’t fully go away all year,” Shanahan said. “Regardless of when he comes back, he’s going to always have to deal with it a little bit, especially with the people you talk to who have gone through turf toe.”
The 49ers learned the hard way that toe injuries are fickle. They potentially rushed Purdy back too quickly resulting in a setback that led to this extended absence:
Last time, we felt like he was feeling pretty good in practice. And then in the game, one hit set him back five, or six weeks. Whatever this has been. Four weeks. So, it’s kind of a sensitive situation. Hopefully, getting some reps in practice will give him some confidence that it was better than last time.
There also exists the complication that the 49ers have seemingly been just fine with Jones at the helm. The former first round pick helped San Francisco to a 5-2 record in the seven games Purdy has missed. Jones led a win over the Rams on Thursday Night Football this season and could be set to start again in the rematch Sunday.
Jones might be 95% as good as Purdy. He’s also a lot cheaper. It’s a tough pill to swallow after San Francisco committed more than $265M to Purdy over the next five years.
The bottom line is that the 49ers have positioned themselves to play in the postseason, though they’ve cooled off of late and are battling a slew of injuries across their roster. If they are going to make a run in 2025, they’ll want Purdy at the height of his powers over the back stretch.
