San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy will miss Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers due to a sore throwing shoulder, which is another setback for the 49ers’ playoff hopes.
Purdy hurt his right shoulder during last Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He had an MRI on Monday, which showed no structural damage, and the team thought he could play this week.
However, when Purdy’s shoulder didn’t feel right while warming up during practice on Thursday, the team changed its plans.
“We thought he just needed some rest and we really weren’t concerned about him not being good this week,” coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday. “But when he started up Thursday, it just surprised him, surprised us how it felt. So we had to shut him down.”
Shanahan mentioned that the team doesn’t believe the injury is a long-term issue, but he is unsure if Purdy will need to miss more games.
“The MRI doesn’t look like that, so it should be all right,” Shanahan said. “But the way it responded this week, it’s really up in the air for next week. We’ll have to see on Monday.”
The 49ers will also be without star defensive end Nick Bosa, who left last week’s game in the second half with injuries to his left hip and oblique. Left tackle Trent Williams is questionable with an ankle injury and will be a game-time decision.
San Francisco struggled on defense without Bosa last week, and now they’ll be missing two of their key players for this game.
The Niners (5-5) are currently tied for second in the NFC West, a game behind Arizona. They need to win to stay in the playoff race after reaching the Super Bowl last season.
“I know it’s disappointing,” Shanahan said. “We knew there was a chance for Nick. I think the guys were a little surprised with Brock yesterday, but we addressed all that today. We’re going to have 48 guys in uniform. I know our guys believe in themselves. I believe in them. We’re missing two good players, definitely. But we got a lot of good players out there. So by no means do we not have a chance to win.”
This will be the first time Purdy has missed a start since becoming the 49ers’ quarterback in December 2022. Brandon Allen will start in his place.
Purdy has completed 66% of his passes this season for 2,613 yards, 13 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and a passer rating of 95.9, which is much lower than his league-leading 113 rating in 2023.
Allen has mostly been a backup since being drafted by Jacksonville in 2016. He last started a game in Week 18 of the 2021 season for Cincinnati and has thrown only three passes in the last three seasons, none of them since joining San Francisco in 2023.
Allen said his preparation hasn’t changed this week, except for working with the first-team receivers instead of running the scout team.
“It’s an opportunity,” he said. “The circumstances are what they are. But I think our team all year long we’ve been kind of dealing with injuries here and there. It’s been a big next-man-up mentality.
It’s definitely an opportunity for me to go out and play well and put our guys in a good position to win the game. Obviously, we want Brock back and healthy and all that. But for the time being, it is an opportunity for me.”
Joshua Dobbs will be the backup on Sunday.
San Francisco will also be without starting cornerback Charvarius Ward, who returned to the team this week after the death of his 1-year-old daughter on Oct. 28, but he needs more time to get back into shape.
Punt returner Jacob Cowing (concussion), linebacker Tatum Bethune (knee), and defensive lineman Kevin Givens (groin) are also out.
The Packers will also be missing two key defensive players, as cornerback Jaire Alexander is ruled out with a knee injury and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is out with a hamstring injury.
