Sports

With Brock Purdy ramping up toward a potential return Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan dismissed the idea that it will be hard to decide if his franchise quarterback should play instead of backup Mac Jones.

"It's not a hard decision," Shanahan told reporters Wednesday. "It's just more about Brock's health. It's been awesome how Mac's played. He's been great, but we got a lot of confidence in Brock, and we know Brock will play at a high level, too, as long as he's healthy."

Purdy has been out since aggravating his toe injury during a Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He initially picked up the turf toe variant in a season-opening win against the Seattle Seahawks.

The 49ers and Purdy have taken a more patient approach to his return to play this time around. Meanwhile, Jones has thrived as QB1, leading an injury-riddled San Francisco team to a 5-3 record in his eight starts despite dealing with knee and oblique issues himself.

Before calling a Week 10 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and 49ers for Fox Sports this past weekend, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady suggested the 49ers should stick with the hot hand at quarterback, with Jones slinging it in Purdy's absence.

The 49ers ended up losing to the Rams 42-26, but Jones turned in his third 300-yard passing game of the season while tossing a trio of touchdowns and one pick in the defeat.

During the game, former five-time All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman posted on X that he doesn't see how Shanahan will be able to take Jones off the field.

"Not trying to spark controversy, but this is an obvious observation," Sherman wrote before noting that, regardless of Shanahan's decision, Jones will be starting somewhere next season.

Shanahan isn't surprised by that kind of reaction.

"I just think that's the world," he said Wednesday. "I mean, anytime a backup quarterback comes in and plays good, that's all anyone talks about. I don't think anyone talks about what people have done in the past, whether it's Brock or whether it's anybody, and that's just how the world works, with media or anybody. 

"So I don't look too much into that stuff at all. We all know how good Brock's played in the past, and I think he played really good versus Seattle, and I think he struggled versus Jacksonville, which is why we shouldn't have brought him back then. And I know when Brock comes back, he'll play the same way he always has — like a very high-level quarterback."

Shanahan acknowledged earlier this month that even when Purdy does finally return from his toe injury, he likely won't be 100% this season. But Shanahan emphasized Wednesday that his fourth-year signal-caller won't have to alter his mobility when he's back on the field.

"If that was the case, he wouldn't have come back," Shanahan said. "I think if you got to tell a guy to not be mobile and to stay out of situations, it's kind of hard to be successful. 

"I mean, when a guy gets out on that field, he's got to react and play, and if he doesn't feel that way, which I'll watch him practice and talk to him, then he won't go."

Purdy was officially "limited" in Wednesday's practice, but Shanahan said beforehand the injury status wouldn't interfere with his plan for Purdy to have an aggressive session with the team.

Shanahan confirmed that he's trying to build Purdy up to the point where he's able to start Sunday against the Cardinals.

"I think each week it's gotten better, with last week being the best," Shanahan said of Purdy's play in practice. "So if he takes a big step forward this week, like he did last week, he should have a good chance to play."

Purdy, the 2022 NFL Draft's "Mr. Irrelevant," led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2023 season and signed a five-year, $265 million extension in May after San Francisco's 6-11 finish last season.

Shanahan said that being around Purdy as long as he has been gives him a feel for the Iowa State product's mechanics.

"You can just feel how the ball comes off, how he moves, how he reacts," he said.

Shanahan admitted it "felt a little off" against Jacksonville in Week 4.

Purdy has put in a lot of work to return to form since then. When he is ready to go, there's no doubt that he'll be the starter again. Shanahan made that clear Wednesday.