Mac Jones Set to Start for the 49ers for a Second Consecutive Week
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Unless a last-minute change occurs, the San Francisco 49ers will start Mac Jones at quarterback for the second consecutive week this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The starting quarterback Brock Purdy is questionable for Sunday due to a toe injury that kept him out last week against the New Orleans Saints. Although Purdy participated in limited fashion in practice during all three days this week and, according to coach Kyle Shanahan, made “a lot of progress” in his recovery, Shanahan was not optimistic about Purdy’s chances of starting against Arizona.Shanahan explained that the decision of whether Purdy will be in uniform as Jones’ backup will depend on how he feels in the next 48 hours. The Niners will evaluate Purdy on Saturday and then will need to make roster decisions to determine if Purdy can be Jones’ primary backup or if they will need to promote practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez again to be Jones’ primary backup. According to league rules, if the Niners want Purdy to be the emergency third quarterback, the second quarterback (in this case, Martinez) would have to be elevated to the active roster and could not simply be a standard elevation that returns to the practice squad on Monday. All of this will influence the calculation of whether Purdy will be available against the Cardinals or if he will be inactive before the game as he was last week. For his part, Purdy said on Thursday that he wants to play, but that he also doesn’t want to jeopardize more games besides this week.I think it’s very unlikely that he will be a starter. We are trying to see where he is to see if he can be number 2 or an emergency number 3.
Kyle Shanahan
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings (ankle, shoulder) and guard Connor Colby (groin) are also questionable. Jennings did not practice this week, while Colby, who was going to enter the starting lineup for the injured Ben Bartch, was injured in Thursday’s practice and was limited in Friday’s session.I want to play every game. I want to be out there. You only have 17 regular season games and every game matters, especially a divisional game against the Cardinals. If you ask me, I’d love to, but I’m trying to be smart with my body.
Brock Purdy
