The San Francisco 49ers are sitting pretty comfortably at 3-1, but their quarterback room is in the news again. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan gave an insight into quarterback Brock Purdy’s status. This could inform the way the team might go about deciding how to proceed on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams. The ominous cloud hanging over Purdy’s health has cast doubt on whether the quarterback can handle the demands of the upcoming NFL schedule.

All signs point towards Mac Jones starting on Thursday Night Football vs the Rams. San Francisco is inclined to keep Purdy sidelined for the time being, holding him until the game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, unless Purdy returns full strength within the next 24 hours.

The news first surfaced on X through 49ers & NFL News 24/7, which started a maelstrom of speculation about Shanahan’s ultimatum. Backup quarterback Mac Jones has been getting extra first-team walk-through reps and should be prepared to take over the starting role in case Purdy gets a breather.

That would be Jones’ third start of the season, and he’s supplemented the offense with some relative success and kept the 49ers afloat as Purdy struggled with injuries. Purdy injured his toe in the Sept. 7 season opener. It is turf toe. He then sat out the next two games, during which backup Mac Jones was the starter, before making his return against the Jaguars.

Against the Saints in Week 2, Jones threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, playing poised within Shanahan’s quick-read system. Then, in Week 3, he posted a decent outing by going 20 of 21 and a touchdown against Arizona. He also lowered his average time to throw from  2.78 seconds to 2.59 seconds. The stats won’t jump out at you, but his reliability in not fumbling the ball and running Shanahan’s system has earned him increasing faith in the locker room. 

General manager John Lynch responded to the report on Purdy’s status short of declaring whether the quarterback had suffered an aggravation of his initial injury. “We always look into everything for all of our players,” Lynch said. “So we will take every precaution to make sure Brock is all right. I think he is. Now, it’s just a matter of – can he turn it around on a short week?” Purdy was marked as a non-participant on Monday’s estimated practice report.

Shanahan has the final say, but everything indicates that Jones will play against the Rams. And somewhere it’s turning out to be good for the 49ers.

Could Brock Purdy play?

Purdy’s widely expected return wasn’t so smooth. He fumbled once and intercepted twice during Week 4, and directly accounted for three of San Francisco’s four turnovers. The inconsistent play ignited the discussion: Did he return to play too soon?

 After the week 4 game, it was reported that Purdy is sore on the toe, which kept him out of the week 2 and week 3 games. If the toe hadn’t healed, why did he make a comeback? Was it a team decision or Purdy’s?

Shanahan revealed on Monday that Purdy is dealing with toe soreness. With a short week before Thursday’s matchup against the Rams, his recovery window is limited, and he has been listed as a non-participant in practice for the past two days.

Quarterback Brock Purdy remains questionable for Thursday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, acknowledging Tuesday afternoon that his availability is still undetermined. However, the signal-caller isn’t ready to rule himself out despite the injury concerns. “Honestly, Thursday night football games, they come quick, so anything can happen,” Purdy said. “But I’m still hopeful that I can. We’ll see.”

Purdy admitted that if the game were Tuesday night, he wouldn’t have been able to play, but emphasized he still has two more days to recover. The 49ers held only a walk-through on Tuesday and won’t have a full-speed practice before Thursday’s game. “If I can play this game, I want to play,” Purdy said. “Obviously, I want to get right and get healthy, but we need to win this game against the Rams. That’s how I’m looking at it.”

Shanahan said Tuesday the decision between starting Purdy or backup Mac Jones, now fully cleared from a sprained knee, will depend on how Purdy feels as the week goes on. “It’ll come down to whether we believe he can play at 100 percent of his ability and protect himself,” Shanahan explained.

The 49ers face quarterback availability questions for the third straight week heading into a game, creating ongoing challenges for offensive preparation and game planning. According to backup quarterback Jones, the situation presents obstacles, but he maintains his focus on staying ready regardless of whether he starts.

San Francisco’s injury situation at quarterback adds urgency to Wednesday’s practice reports, which will provide a clearer indication of Purdy’s ability to participate and his realistic chances of suiting up Thursday night. Until then, it looks like Mac Jones will be the starter against the Rams.