Brock Purdy threw one short pass during the open portion of the San Francisco 49ers’ practice as he continues to be slowed down by a shoulder injury that has already caused him to miss one game.
For most of Wednesday’s practice, Purdy was either watching from the sidelines or handing the ball off, except for the one short pass to Jordan Mason.
Purdy hurt his shoulder in a loss to Seattle on Nov. 17. He tried throwing at practice last Thursday, but he felt soreness in his right shoulder and had to stop.
Purdy missed the game against Green Bay, but he was able to do some light throwing on Monday. His status for this week’s game remains uncertain as the 49ers (5-6) get ready to face Buffalo on Sunday night.
Purdy isn’t the only important player for San Francisco dealing with injuries. Left tackle Trent Williams and defensive end Nick Bosa were both absent from practice on Wednesday after missing the previous game.
Williams was using a scooter in the locker room because of a left ankle injury. Bosa is dealing with injuries to his left hip and oblique.
Bosa said taking a week off helped him improve and that he hopes to join individual drills later in the week. He hasn’t ruled out playing on Sunday.
“It’s feeling a lot better,” Bosa said. “Still need to get better before I’m ready to go. This week will be big, and I’ll know a lot more in the next couple of days.”
Running back Christian McCaffrey has been playing but hasn’t returned to the level of play that earned him the AP Offensive Player of the Year award in 2023, after missing the first eight games of this season due to Achilles tendinitis.
McCaffrey has rushed for 149 yards in three games, averaging only 3.5 yards per carry, a significant drop from last season’s 5.4 yards per carry. However, he’s confident that with time, he will return to his usual form.
“When you lose and maybe you don’t jump out on the stat sheet, your failures are highlighted,” McCaffrey said. “I’m happy I’m out here playing football, and I just know with time it will come.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said he’s been pleased with McCaffrey’s performance, but added that there hasn’t been much space for him to run in recent weeks. Shanahan also mentioned that it takes time to get back to speed after McCaffrey had almost no practice time for nine months.
“Guys who miss offseasons and miss training camp usually take a little bit of time at the start of the year to get back into how they were the year before, let alone missing half the season on top of that,” Shanahan said. “I think Christian’s doing a hell of a job. But to think he’s going to come back in Week 8, after not being able to do anything for the last nine months, and just be in MVP form is a very unrealistic expectation.”
