Brock Purdy is getting the advantage of a full offseason in ahead of his second year as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. What he isn’t getting, however, is the advantage of having his starting center at OTAs.

Speaking at a press conference following the 49ers second OTA practice, the first open to the media, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed center Jake Brendel would not take part in any practices due to arthritis in his knee.

Brendel has started at center for the last two seasons, proving a perfect fit for the 49ers’ offense having succeeded veteran Alex Mack, whom he backed up in 2021 after opting out of the 2020 season.

While so much has been made of how important All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk — absent from OTAs as he and the 49ers attempt to hammer out a long-term extension — is to the San Francisco quarterback, Purdy's relationship with Brendel is just as critical to the team's success.

Yet, with Purdy having close to 30 games of experience of playing with Brendel under his belt, there is little reason for the 49ers to rush the center back and risk him aggravating the injury.

Jon Feliciano took the first-team center reps in Brendel’s absence. Per Matt Barrows of The Athletic, 2022 sixth-round pick Nick Zakelj was the starting center with the second-team offense while undrafted free agent center Drake Nugent was the third-team center.

Brendel being on the sideline could provide an opportunity for the 49ers to test third-round rookie Dominick Puni’s five-position upside.

The 49ers said Puni will start his career with the team at guard, but the former Kansas Jayhawk has experience practicing at center in spring ball in college.

With Brendel out for now, it would be no surprise to see Puni worked into the center rotation in the coming practices.

As the 49ers play it smart with Brendel, it gives them the chance to potentially evaluate Puni at center and get a clearer picture of Nugent’s promise as an NFL player at the position by having him work higher up the rotation. 

San Francisco would obviously rather have Brendel out there but, with little risk to his rapport with Purdy, his time on the sideline provides the 49ers with an opportunity to examine their potential alternatives and prepare for the possibility that his injury becomes a recurring problem.

San Francisco 49ers appear to have another significant wide receiver problem on their hands

They don’t appear to be on the same page.