Despite injuries and quarterback Brock Purdy being sidelined with turf toe, the San Francisco 49ers looked sharp in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams. Quarterback Mac Jones stepped in, going 33-of-49 for 349 yards and two touchdowns to lead San Francisco to a 26-23 win. With Jones performing at a high level and Purdy fresh off a big contract, a potential quarterback controversy could be emerging.

Well, Christian McCaffrey doesn’t really think so. After the Thursday Night Football win, McCaffrey spoke to the media about Jones’ strong outing. “I don’t have enough good things to say about Mac (Jones),” the 29-year-old running back said when asked if Jones would slip into the starting role again.

“You know, he’s an absolute warrior. He’s a leader. He’s somebody that we all can get behind for sure. And you know, I think it’s a testament to him and his attitude and the way he plays football. It’s a testament to Brock (Purdy) and the way that he helps. He’s (Purdy) been helping him (Mac) and getting him ready to go.”

Purdy, who signed a five-year, $265 million contract extension this year, initially suffered a turf toe injury during the Niners’ season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Since then, he’s missed three games (returned in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars but aggravated the injury), which gave Jones the chance to step up. And let’s just say, the backup QB has been an absolute force to be reckoned with.

In Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, Jones completed 26 of 39 passes for 279 yards, throwing 3 touchdowns with no interceptions, securing a 26–21 win. Just a week later, he went 27 of 41 for 284 yards, adding a touchdown and an interception, leading the team to a narrow 16–15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. While Purdy replaced him in Week 4, sure. But after he aggravated his injury, Jones returned and secured his third win of the season.

And yes, McCaffrey just admitted that Purdy’s been helping the former first-rounder to lead the Niners. And following the Niners’ win over the Rams, Jones made it clear that Purdy will be the starter once he gets healthy, putting an end to all the speculation around the QB controversy. “They brought me here to play as a backup, and that’s my job,” Jones said.

“Brock’s the starter of this team. Right now, he’s dealing with something, and for him to go out last week and play when you probably know he’s not at full health shows a lot. I’m just trying to get some wins for this team so it helps us down the line.” The only wrinkle, though? Both QBs are now dealing with injuries.

Brock Purdy re-aggravated his injury, while Mac Jones hurt his knee

The Niners could be without Brock Purdy for quite some time now. In the Week 4 matchup against the Jaguars, the quarterback aggravated his turf toe and could miss the Week 6 game. “My understanding is that Brock Purdy suffered a setback in the loss against the Jaguars. Basically, got hit the same way, remember, he was dealing with that turf toe injury. Came in, reported soreness, had an MRI. The MRI revealed an aggravation of that turf toe,” Ian Rapoport said before the Rams’ game.

Fast forward to now, and the injury analyst Deepak Chona just reported that Purdy has re-aggravated his injury. Per Chona, there’s still optimism about his early recovery, but expect him to miss the Week 6 game. To make it trickier, Mac Jones is also dealing with knee issues. He surely put up a strong performance on Thursday night, but the broadcast showed the QB suffering from knee complications.

After the game, the head coach, Kyle Shanahan, admitted that Jones did suffer knee issues during the game. But the QB finished the game with 26-23, leading the Niners to a 4-1 record. On top of that, Chona observed that the former first-rounder was heavily limping but leaning toward playing in Week 6. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next on the road, we’ll see how the quarterback situation looks next week.