49ers launch Week 10 practices for Rams without Ricky Pearsall but with Brock Purdy, Bryce Huff
SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy is practicing for an eventual return as the 49ers’ quarterback. How eventual? No neon sign is indicating a comeback for this Sunday’s home tilt against the Los Angeles Rams.
But Purdy will get more first-team reps this week than during his month-plus hiatus.
“Plan on pushing it each week,” coach Kyle Shanahan said before Wednesday’s practice.
Purdy has not played since aggravating his right big toe injury in a Sept. 28 loss to Jacksonville. He has been limited in practice the past three weeks, and although he was questionable to play in last weekend’s win at the New York Giants, Shanahan said he really wasn’t close to suiting up Purdy for an emergency backup role behind Mac Jones and No. 2 Adrian Martinez.
With both Jones and Purdy having proven themselves in the 49ers’ offense, Shanahan seems undeterred about a second-half playoff push. “As long as you have a quarterback playing at a high level, I don’t worry too much about chemistry,” Shanahan said.
Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young believes Purdy is simply not healthy enough to return.
“At some point, Brock, I would suspect, would say, ‘Enough. I’m playing.’ I’ve got to believe those conversations have happened,” Young told KNBR 680-AM. “… I feel if Brock could somehow play, he would force the issue. I would. I’d force it publicly, I’d force it privately, I’d make it happen. I know Brock and I suspect he can’t make it happen because he’s not healthy enough.”
Jones is 5-2 as Purdy’s replacement, with last Sunday’s 34-24 win serving as Jones’ second-most efficient game of his career in terms of a passer rating (135.2). Jones completed all 14 of his first-half passes and finished 19-of-24 for 235 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a lost fumble on a first-half sack.
Shanahan continued to quell any quarterback controversy chatter by noting on Monday that, “this is Brock’s team.” A day earlier, however, Shanahan noted that “with this turf toe, it’s probably something that probably won’t fully go away all year, regardless of when he comes back.”
HEALTH CENTER
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) will remain out of practice since injuring a posterior cruciate ligament against the Jaguars. “No setback, just taking longer to go than we thought,” Shanahan said.
Defensive end Bryce Huff is returning to practice after missing the past two games with a hamstring strain from late in their win over Atlanta. “I just had a Grade 1 so it wasn’t anything crazy,” said Huff, who said he expects to play Sunday.
Huff, with a team-high four sacks, has been particularly missed in a 49ers’ pass rush that ranks last in the NFL at 1.2 sacks per game. Defensive end Mykel Williams sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament late last game, the same injury that took out fellow opening-day starter Nick Bosa in Week 3.
Also limited Wednesday are linebackers Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune, as well as center Jake Brendel. Guard Ben Bartch will be a full participant and could return to left guard, but Shanahan said he was impressed by Spencer Burford’s debut there last game.
TRADE DEADLINE AFTERMATH
The 49ers idled on Tuesday’s trade deadline, but only after dealing a week earlier for defensive lineman Keion White and a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-rounder to New England.
“Excited we made one we felt real good about last week,” Shanahan said. “We looked into a ton of them but the asking price was too much.”
Three years after he got traded to the 49ers, running back Christian McCaffrey said he doesn’t focus on trade-deadline news.
“The guys you go out there and play with are the guys you feel confident in playing with,” McCaffrey said. “Everybody on this team can play. I’m fired up about our team and where we’re at and we just have to keep rolling.”
That said, McCaffrey isn’t ignoring the 49ers’ injury-riddled roster, adding: “Obviously losing guys is tough and never easy. You see the kind of depth that you have and the guys who’ve stepped up and done a really good job. It shows me they have confidence in the guys we have.”
Linebacker Tatum Bethune echoed that last point, stating: “I’m good with the guys on this team right now. We’re going to rock whoever is on that field.”
BETHUNE’S BIG STATS
Bethune leads the NFL in tackles with 50 since Week 6, when he replaced an injured Fred Warner as the 49ers’ middle linebacker. Bethune exchanges texts with Warner each game for an instant review.
“If you play bad, you play. If you play legendary, he’ll tell you,” Bethune said. “He’ll put it in all caps with the fire emoji. I got that last week so it kind of felt good. He’ll keep it real with you all the time. That’s what I respect, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything.”
D-LINEMAN ADDED
The 49ers did add defensive lineman Andrew Farmer II to their practice squad, replacing linebacker Stone Blanton. Farmer has had stints with the Chargers and the Broncos, but his only NFL experience was eight games (no sacks) with the 2023 Chargers. He had 17.5 sacks in 18 games at Lane College in 2021-22.
HOF COACHING NODS
George Seifert, who coached the 49ers to their most recent Super Bowl wins in the 1989 and ’94 seasons, is among nine semifinalists in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Coaches category that includes first-time nominee Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots’ six-time champion. Other semifinalists are former 49ers offensive coordinators Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan (father of the current 49ers’ coach) as well as
Tom Coughlin, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, and Marty Schottenheimer.