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The San Francisco 49ers are in a little bit of a strange place with their quarterback depth chart heading into their Week 3 showdown with the Arizona Cardinals.
Starting quarterback Brock Purdy is dealing with a toe injury that he suffered in the regular season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. He missed the 49ers' Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints, but he returned to practice leading up to Week 3. Purdy took part in all three sessions on a limited basis and is listed as questionable for the game, but head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters in his after-practice press conference that Purdy is "highly unlikely" to start against the Cardinals.
In Week 2 Purdy's absence meant he was inactive, and practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez was elevated to the active roster to back up Mac Jones who slid into the starting role.
That might change in Week 3. Shanahan on Wednesday indicated Purdy may be able to back up Jones or suit up as an emergency third QB if he wasn't able to get ready to start. He doubled down on that Friday saying Purdy "could be a two or an emergency three.”
An emergency third QB is technically inactive, but he's in uniform and available if the first two quarterbacks are out of the game with injuries. If Martinez is elevated from the practice squad instead of promoted to the active roster, the 49ers wouldn't be able to make Purdy the emergency QB according to Shanahan. Standard elevations mean the player reverts back to the practice squad after the game. A promotion means they take a place on the 53-man roster.
It sounds like injury issues at other positions could play a role in practice squad elevations (teams are allowed two per game), which may hinder the team's ability or willingness to elevate Martinez.
“It will be decided by one o'clock based off of some other things," Shanahan said of the roster decisions the team will make Saturday. "To make (Purdy) the emergency, then I believe Martinez can't be a flex. He's got to be on the active roster, so that's why a lot more things go into it also. Then we got some of the O-Line stuff that changed yesterday, so that's why there's like six layers connected to that."
Offensive lineman and swing tackle Spencer Burford hurt his knee in Week 2 and has been ruled out for Sunday's game. Starting left guard Ben Bartch was placed on IR with a high ankle sprain, and his replacement Connor Colby hurt his groin and is questionable for Sunday. That could change the team's calculus on practice squad promotions and elevations.
As for Purdy being a backup, that's a strange solution for an injured player. Typically when a starter is hurt, they either start or they don't play. The logic is that if he's healthy enough to get in a game as a backup, then he should be able to simply start the game.
Shanahan explained why Purdy may be able to take on a backup role with his injury instead of just starting.
“Just things that he would be limited in," Shanahan said "So, I think there's certain things that he could do, maybe certain things he couldn't. So, we're trying to decide if he could do that. When you won't know that until Sunday, you don't get to practice in any other area, don't want to force it on Sunday, but don't mind finding out if you have to.”
If that makes sense to you, dear reader, we congratulate you on your superb reading comprehension.
For us, it sounds like Shanahan is just trying to keep doors open with so much uncertainty around what the roster will look like after Saturday's roster moves. It would be a pretty significant surprise if Purdy is the No. 2 QB behind Jones since Jones could get hurt on the first snap and Purdy would ostensibly be the starter anyway.
Our guess as to the resolution is that Martinez is promoted to the active roster with Burford and rookie wide receiver Jordan Watkins going to IR and opening roster spots. That second open spot could go to one of a handful of veteran offensive linemen like Nick Zakelj or Brandon Parker. It would make sense if Parker, a veteran offensive tackle, was the roster promotion to fill in for Burford. Zakelj makes sense as a standard elevation to fill in as either a starter or depth piece if Colby can't suit up.
That's just a guess, though, since it sounds like all possibilities are on the table while Purdy deals with his toe injury.
More 49ers: 49ers may already have to replace their newest starting offensive lineman
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Brock Purdy injury could come with major shakeup to 49ers depth chart
Continue reading...
Starting quarterback Brock Purdy is dealing with a toe injury that he suffered in the regular season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. He missed the 49ers' Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints, but he returned to practice leading up to Week 3. Purdy took part in all three sessions on a limited basis and is listed as questionable for the game, but head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters in his after-practice press conference that Purdy is "highly unlikely" to start against the Cardinals.
In Week 2 Purdy's absence meant he was inactive, and practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez was elevated to the active roster to back up Mac Jones who slid into the starting role.
That might change in Week 3. Shanahan on Wednesday indicated Purdy may be able to back up Jones or suit up as an emergency third QB if he wasn't able to get ready to start. He doubled down on that Friday saying Purdy "could be a two or an emergency three.”
An emergency third QB is technically inactive, but he's in uniform and available if the first two quarterbacks are out of the game with injuries. If Martinez is elevated from the practice squad instead of promoted to the active roster, the 49ers wouldn't be able to make Purdy the emergency QB according to Shanahan. Standard elevations mean the player reverts back to the practice squad after the game. A promotion means they take a place on the 53-man roster.
It sounds like injury issues at other positions could play a role in practice squad elevations (teams are allowed two per game), which may hinder the team's ability or willingness to elevate Martinez.
“It will be decided by one o'clock based off of some other things," Shanahan said of the roster decisions the team will make Saturday. "To make (Purdy) the emergency, then I believe Martinez can't be a flex. He's got to be on the active roster, so that's why a lot more things go into it also. Then we got some of the O-Line stuff that changed yesterday, so that's why there's like six layers connected to that."
Offensive lineman and swing tackle Spencer Burford hurt his knee in Week 2 and has been ruled out for Sunday's game. Starting left guard Ben Bartch was placed on IR with a high ankle sprain, and his replacement Connor Colby hurt his groin and is questionable for Sunday. That could change the team's calculus on practice squad promotions and elevations.
As for Purdy being a backup, that's a strange solution for an injured player. Typically when a starter is hurt, they either start or they don't play. The logic is that if he's healthy enough to get in a game as a backup, then he should be able to simply start the game.
Shanahan explained why Purdy may be able to take on a backup role with his injury instead of just starting.
“Just things that he would be limited in," Shanahan said "So, I think there's certain things that he could do, maybe certain things he couldn't. So, we're trying to decide if he could do that. When you won't know that until Sunday, you don't get to practice in any other area, don't want to force it on Sunday, but don't mind finding out if you have to.”
If that makes sense to you, dear reader, we congratulate you on your superb reading comprehension.
For us, it sounds like Shanahan is just trying to keep doors open with so much uncertainty around what the roster will look like after Saturday's roster moves. It would be a pretty significant surprise if Purdy is the No. 2 QB behind Jones since Jones could get hurt on the first snap and Purdy would ostensibly be the starter anyway.
Our guess as to the resolution is that Martinez is promoted to the active roster with Burford and rookie wide receiver Jordan Watkins going to IR and opening roster spots. That second open spot could go to one of a handful of veteran offensive linemen like Nick Zakelj or Brandon Parker. It would make sense if Parker, a veteran offensive tackle, was the roster promotion to fill in for Burford. Zakelj makes sense as a standard elevation to fill in as either a starter or depth piece if Colby can't suit up.
That's just a guess, though, since it sounds like all possibilities are on the table while Purdy deals with his toe injury.
More 49ers: 49ers may already have to replace their newest starting offensive lineman
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Brock Purdy injury could come with major shakeup to 49ers depth chart
Continue reading...
