The San Francisco 49ers have already played two games without $53 million quarterback Brock Purdy and this Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams could be a third. As the 49ers attempt to win their third game in a row when Mac Jones as the starter, if Purdy is unable to start, the question has started to come up if San Francisco is in better hands with the backup QB.
Purdy was a no-go if the 49ers had to practice on Monday (practice reports are only simulated on a short week like this) and Jones, who missed a practice last week, was considered ready. If these injury reports continue like this, the Rams will face Jones and not Purdy, who returned this Sunday to face the Jaguars and lost 26-21.
Should the Rams rather want to face Brock Purdy?
Purdy’s return was anything but triumphant as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, creating three of the 49ers four turnovers.
Those who follow the 49ers have started to point out that Purdy’s “Mr. Irrelevant” status may be more relevant than ever.
This didn’t stop the 49ers from making the same mistake that so many teams have made recently, paying Purdy a five-year, $265 million extension in May that includes $182 million guaranteed. The 49ers would have a very hard time getting away from Purdy earlier than 2028. But in a limited sample size, Jones has out-played him.
Jones has four touchdowns and one interception in two games, while Purdy has four touchdowns and four interceptions in two games. Even if Purdy was 20% better than Mac Jones, he’s being paid 200 times as much.
Frankly, there is just no good evidence that the difference between Purdy and Jones is gigantic, just as there have never been any huge differences between Kyle Shanahan QBs from Jimmy Garoppolo to Purdy to Jones. The 49ers seemingly paid Purdy out of fear, but he has thrown eight interceptions in his last five games and San Francisco has a 1-4 record in those contests.
For this week, the 49ers might use Purdy’s injury as any excuse to rest him and give Mac Jones a third opportunity to start. After all, the 49ers have watched Sam Darnold use Shanahan’s coaching and system to rebuild his career into being a starter for the Vikings and Seahawks; does Shanahan want to try and get more out of Mac Jones before making any long-term decisions?
The Rams will get a closer look at one of these two quarterbacks on Thursday. But if they both get injured, which has happened to the 49ers before, we might get the debut of practice squad quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
Purdy or Jones, who do you think is the better QB?
