It’s officially time to be massively concerned for the San Francisco 49ers.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has officially ruled out starting quarterback Brock Purdy for the Week 12 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Purdy has been dealing with shoulder soreness that he sustained in the Week 11 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Backup Brandon Allen will get the nod to start in Purdy’s place. It is unclear when Purdy suffered his shoulder injury, but it wasn’t caused by any throws he made. Shanahan clarified on Monday that it was caused by a hit he took, which likely occurred on one of his scrambles.
I’ve stated this before, but it was only a matter of time before Purdy got hurt. He scrambles several times a game and doesn’t protect himself. Someone needs to teach him how to slide or emphasize sliding to him so that he doesn’t get hit. He also should be taking more checkdowns than he has been this year.
For some reason, Purdy plays like the offense will only succeed if he balls out. Now, it has come with a cost with his excessive and sometimes unnecessary scrambling. There is no telling how long the shoulder injury will nag Purdy for. At this time, it doesn’t seem severe or season-ending.
Either way, this is brutal news for the 49ers. The chances of the 49ers being able to defeat the Packers with Allen are zero. It would be stunning if they win against a good Packers team on the road without Purdy. Joshua Dobbs would give a better chance, but the 49ers are deadset on Allen.
The 49ers’ season is already on the brink thanks to them fumbling three games in the fourth quarter. The margin for error is slim to none with every game needing to be won practically. But with Purdy’s shoulder injury, it paints a bleak picture for the remainder of the season.
A picture that was foreshadowed from the moment they lost the Super Bowl nine months ago.
