The 49ers are set to have quarterback Brock Purdy back in the lineup this weekend.
Purdy missed last Sunday’s loss to the Packers with a right shoulder injury, but he was a full participant in practice on Friday. While the 49ers listed Purdy as questionable on their final injury report, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the team expects him to start against the Bills.
The quarterback won’t have left tackle Trent Williams or left guard Aaron Banks blocking for him, however. Williams has been ruled out for the second straight game with an ankle injury while Banks is in the concussion protocol.
Defensive end Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) is also out for the second week in a row. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee), and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion) have also been ruled out for the Niners.
The Bills will not have one of their key offensive players for Sunday’s game against the 49ers, though they could get one of their best defensive players back for the matchup.
Via Chris Brown of the team’s website, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott ruled tight end Dalton Kincaid out during his weekly interview with WGR 550 on Friday morning.
In his second season, Kincaid is dealing with a knee injury. He missed the Nov. 17 win over Kansas City before Buffalo’s bye last week. Kincaid has 34 receptions for 356 yards with two touchdowns so far in 2024.
Returning from injured reserve, linebacker Matt Milano is questionable for the matchup — but it appears he has a good chance to play. Milano has been a full participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Having suffered his torn biceps during training camp, Milano has not yet played in 2024.
Receiver Keon Coleman (wrist) and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist) will also be questionable. Both Milano and Carter would need to be activated off IR to play.
Offensive tackle Spencer Brown (ankle) is set to play on Sunday. Offensive tackle Tylan Grable (groin) will remain on injured reserve.
The Bills can clinch the AFC East with a victory on Sunday.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder) remained limited in practice a second consecutive day.
It is unknown how much throwing Purdy actually has done in two days of practice.
The 49ers listed Purdy as limited Wednesday and Thursday last week, but he did not throw. He did not practice Friday when the 49ers ruled him out for the game against the Packers.
Purdy did light throwing Monday without issue, according to coach Kyle Shanahan.
Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle), defensive end Nick Bosa (hip/oblique), offensive guard Aaron Banks (concussion), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion), linebacker Demetrius Flanningan-Fowles (knee) and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee) remained out of practice.
Defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin), cornerback Renardo Green (neck), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles), offensive guard Dominick Puni (shoulder) again were limited.
The only changes to the practice report from Wednesday were running back Christian McCaffrey’s return to full participation after a rest day and the addition of wide receiver Chris Conley (knee) with limited work.
The 49ers are struggling at 5-6. They have a tough game in Buffalo on Sunday night. A loss would further complicate their path to the postseason.
So how is the current vibe in the locker room?
“The vibe in our locker room is exactly how you would think it’d be,” coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re upset with where we’re at in our record, but we’ve got a tight group and we play together. I think if you live in the world online, whether you’re dealing with our profession or your kids dealing with social issues in school, you’re not going to be happy if you’re dealing in the world online. And I’ve definitely coached long enough that I don’t deal in that world. Only online I look at is usually movie stuff and rap battles and funny things that animals do. Good or bad.
“When you listen to good stuff, like that’ll mess you up more than anything. And then when you listen to bad stuff it’ll crush you. That’s not why any of us do this. You’ve got to work with younger guys on that. I think it’s harder just because of the world that they’ve been brought up in. But don’t make someone else’s reality your reality. You’ve got to focus on what your job is and never get away from that.”
The reality is that fans and media who have been spoiled by plenty of playoff appearances and Super Bowl berths are getting restless. Some have even made the ridiculous suggestion that Shanahan should be on the hot seat. Shanahan isn’t trying to assess himself during a down year.
“That’s up to you guys to grade me,” Shanahan said. “I work as hard as I can to get a win that week and we haven’t won as much as I believe we should have. We’ve lost three games that I feel we were capable of winning and should have won. Those are the ones that are the toughest. In terms of grading myself, I’m not going to grade myself. I’m going to work as hard as I can. I’m the same guy I am right now that I’ve always been. We’ve got to overcome some things that we’re in right now. I believe we can overcome them, but we put ourselves in a tough bind and that’s why we’ve got to be extremely good and successful here going forward to be able to overcome that stuff.”
If they can get and stay healthy, they absolutely can do it. Every team has to deal with injuries, but the 49ers have been stung more than most. It likely has something to do with the physical stress of playing so many extra postseason games from 2021 through 2023.
There’s a mental toll as well. It’s hard to put so much into a season and be denied the ultimate goal.
That said, there’s a team or two every year that gets hot after Thanksgiving and carries that into the playoffs. The 49ers can be one of those teams this year.
And that effort would be helped tremendously if they can find a way to upset the Bills on Sunday night. After that, most of the games are winnable — Bears, Rams, at Dolphins, Lions, at Cardinals. Even with a loss on Sunday, 9-8 is doable. Whether that will do enough to pick off the Commanders for the No. 7 seed remains to be seen.
The rest of the playoff teams in the NFC should hope that doesn’t happen.
The Bills appear to be getting closer to getting a key piece of their defense on the field for the first time this season.
Linebacker Matt Milano was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Milano tore his biceps in August and has spent the entire season on injured reserve, but the move up to full participation could set the stage for him to play against the Bills.
Quarterback Josh Allen had been on the injury report for several weeks before Buffalo’s bye with a left hand issue, but he is not on Wednesday’s report at all.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) was the only player on the active roster to miss practice. Wide receiver Keon Coleman (wrist) and tackle Spencer Brown (ankle) were listed as limited participants.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (right shoulder) will have a limited practice Wednesday, coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Purdy, though, might not throw.
“We’ll decide when we get out there,” Shanahan said, via video from the team.
The 49ers listed Purdy as limited Wednesday and Thursday last week, but he did not throw. He did not practice Friday when the 49ers ruled him out for the game against the Packers.
Purdy did light throwing Monday without issue.
In a Week 11 loss to the Seahawks, Purdy appeared to injure the shoulder when his hand hit the arm of Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon as he released a pass early in the fourth quarter. The 49ers, though, don’t know specifically when Purdy injured it as he did not miss time in that game with the injury.
An MRI showed no structural damage, and Purdy underwent a second MRI after he continued to experience soreness in the shoulder late last week.
The 49ers are hoping the soreness disappears this week, and Purdy can return to the lineup after missing the first game in his career with injury.
Shanahan said left tackle Trent Williams (ankle), cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee) and edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) will be among those who won’t practice today. Running back Christian McCaffrey will have a rest day.
It is only Week 13. Yet, three teams have opportunities to stamp their ticket to the postseason this week.
The Bills can clinch the AFC East, which would their fifth division title in a row.
Buffalo Bills (9-2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-6); Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Buffalo clinches AFC East division title with:
- BUF win + MIA loss
Kansas City Chiefs (10-1) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9); Friday, 3 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with:
- KC win + MIA loss or tie
- KC win + DEN loss
- KC win + LAC loss + DEN tie
- KC tie + MIA loss
NFC
Detroit Lions (10-1) vs. Chicago Bears (4-7); Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Detroit clinches a playoff berth with:
- DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + TB loss or tie
- DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + TB loss or tie
- DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
- DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss + ATL tie
- DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
- DET win + SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss + ATL tie
Note: There are additional scenarios in which Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with a tie and other outcomes that involve the Lions clinching the strength of victory tiebreaker.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy did some light throwing without issue Monday, coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Purdy, who missed Sunday’s game with right shoulder soreness, will rest Tuesday.
“It went all good,” Shanahan said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “We didn’t push it that hard, but he did some light throwing, which was a good sign that the pain hadn’t come back, and we’ll rest it tomorrow and see how he feels as the week goes.”
In a Week 11 loss to the Seahawks, Purdy appeared to injure the shoulder when his hand hit the arm of Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon as he released a pass early in the fourth quarter. The 49ers, though, don’t know specifically when Purdy injured it as he did not miss time in that game with the injury.
An MRI showed no structural damage, and Purdy reportedly underwent a second MRI after he continued to experience soreness in the shoulder late last week.
“Most guys, we always get more than one [MRI] when you get one, and it seems all right, then you have some pain later in the week,” Shanahan said. “So, you get another one to make sure you didn’t miss anything. And so, that’s what he did, I think, after the Thursday practice.”
The 49ers listed him as limited in practice last week before ruling him out Friday.
The 49ers play the Bills on Sunday Night Football in Week 13.
The 49ers won’t have quarterback Brock Purdy in the lineup this weekend, but they don’t expect him to be out for an extended period of time.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the 49ers believe Purdy’s right shoulder injury will improve enough for him to play against the Bills in Week 13. Purdy was ruled out for this week’s game against the Packers on Friday.
Purdy’s shoulder issues did not spark a great deal of concern early last week, but he did not throw at practice on Wednesday and he remained a limited participant before ultimately being ruled out. It will be the first game that Purdy has missed due to injury since becoming the 49ers starter during the 2022 season.
Brandon Allen will start in place of Purdy and Josh Dobbs will be the backup.
The Giants benched quarterback Daniel Jones for business reasons, not for football reasons. And the Giants allowed personal feelings to interfere with what would have been the best business decision — prevent him from going elsewhere and proving the Giants wrong, Saquon-style.
But they’re going to waive him. Even though they haven’t done it, the owner has said it’s going to happen. (The reason for the delay isn’t clear, but it’s clearly coming.)
While many have adopted the narrative that Jones stinks, he doesn’t. He hasn’t. He helped lead the Giants to the playoffs in 2022. With Jones at the helm, the Giants beat the Vikings in Minnesota in the wild-card round. His struggles have typically traced to subpar offensive line play.
Once he’s released and clears waivers (he absolutely will), Jones will be free to sign with any team at any time. He’ll first need to ask whether to join a team now or wait.
Waiting would allow Jones to get a better feel for who the real contenders will be — and it might give him a chance to play sooner than later, if a starter gets injured elsewhere.
Regardless, consider the backup situations for the various contenders and ask whether a guy who earned a contract that paid $40 million per year and won a playoff game would be better than the current No. 2.
Buffalo: Mitch Trubisky. (Probably.)
Miami: Skylar Thompson/Tyler Huntley. (Yes.)
Baltimore: Josh Johnson. (Yes.)
Pittsburgh: Justin Fields. (Yes, but they seem to be committed to Fields as current backup and potential future starter.)
Houston: Davis Mills. (Yes.)
Kansas City: Carson Wentz. (Probably.)
L.A. Chargers: Easton Stick. (Yes.)
Denver: Jarrett Stidham. (Yes.)
Philadelphia: Kenny Pickett. (Yes.)
Washington: Marcus Mariota. (Probably.)
Detroit: Hendon Hooker. (Yes.)
Minnesota: Nick Mullens. (Yes.)
Green Bay: Malik Willis. (Yes, although Willis has played well this year.)
Atlanta: Michael Penix Jr. (Yes, but they likely wouldn’t do it.)
Tampa Bay: Kyle Trask. (Yes.)
Arizona: Clayton Tune. (Yes.)
Seattle: Sam Howell. (Yes.)
San Francisco: Brandon Allen. (Yes.)
L.A. Rams: Jimmy Garoppolo. (Probably.)
So, yes, someone who is currently contending should want Jones. Jones can afford to take his time. To wait for a clear shot to potentially contribute on a team that has the ability to go deep into the playoffs.
And maybe to wait to see if/when a starter gets injured and an immediate need arises for Jones to play, sooner than later.
