Brock Purdy’s injury opens the door for one of the NFL’s biggest recent “what-if” scenarios to finally play out in San Francisco
After all this time…we are finally going to get to see it.
The San Francisco 49ers‘ injury woes simply won’t let off. Amid the issues entering the season, plus the Week 1 injury to tight end George Kittle, quarterback Brock Purdy is now set to miss weeks of action. A report this morning from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has tabbed Purdy to miss “2-5 weeks with a turf toe variant”.
It’s the latest domino that has sapped the 49ers of their presumed starters. But this one comes with a little extra intrigue thanks to a long-running storyline of “what-if”.
Brock Purdy’s injury sets the stage for one of NFL’s biggest recent “what-if” scenarios to come to life
No one wants injuries of any kind but they are an unfortunately byproduct of the game. They’re inevitable. But for San Francisco, Purdy’s time off the field will at least give us a chance to see the “what if” pairing of Kyle Shanahan and Mac Jones. Remember — when San Francisco traded three first-round picks to move up in the 2021 NFL Draft, it was widely speculated that Jones was his guy before the team ultimately drafted Trey Lance.
The Lance move and the fallout from the lack of picks would have derailed most coaches and general managers. It was a catastrophic miss and one that is conveniently glossed over in part thanks to Purdy and his emergence as the NFL Draft equivalent of a winning Powerball lottery ticket.
But with Purdy now on the shelf, we’ll finally get to see how Mac Jones runs a Kyle Shanahan offense in San Francisco. Is it a few years to late for the initial idea? Sure. Are the 49ers in a place to maximize Jones’ abilities with their injuries at wide receiver? The most certainly are not. The absence of Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk and Demarcus Robinson have the 49ers a little thin. But they have the scheme and they have Christian McCaffrey.
It should be fun to watch through that spectrum — even if it’s fun only through that spectrum. And if Jones is going to keep the ship afloat, getting the road trip to New Orleans before home contests against Arizona and Jacksonville is not a bad draw for it to happen. I, for one, will be watching intently. You never know, perhaps Jones catches lightning and he can become the next reclamation quarterback to bring his career back to life thanks to the coach who reportedly had eyes for him all along.
San Francisco 49ers News
49ers face concerning Brock Purdy update with the chance to derail their 2025 season and raise new doubts about San Francisco
Not the news they wanted to hear.
