Brock Purdy‘s early return to action in Week 4 resulted in an aggravation of his turf toe injury. He has yet to appear for the 49ers since, and being available at full strength may not be possible for the remainder of the season. 
Head coach Kyle Shanahan recently noted (via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner) the team does not expect Purdy to return to 100% at any point during the 2025 campaign. As a result, a decision will need to be made regarding how close to full strength he is to be worth re-inserting into the lineup. To date, a cautious approach has been taken in this case.
The 49ers have of course been able to play things safe with Purdy thanks to the consistent performances of backup quarterback Mac Jones. San Francisco lost on Sunday, but Jones delivered another strong outing; the former Patriots first-rounder has posted a triple-digit passer rating four times in his eight starts this season. The 49ers sit at 6-4 on the year despite a slew of injuries on both sides of the ball. If Jones continues his level of play, a postseason berth will remain possible down the stretch.
San Francisco’s schedule includes games against the Cardinals, Panthers and Browns before the team’s bye week. Each of those opponents sport a losing record, and it could allow the 49ers to carry on with Jones atop the depth chart. Shanahan did say after yesterday’s game, however, that Purdy could have dressed as the backup in Week 10. That means the door is open to a return as early as next week.
“It depends on how close to 100% he gets,” Shanahan said (via Wagoner). “Our dilemma or what we’re trying not to do is put him out in the situation we did versus Jacksonville six weeks ago… I do believe he’s closer and further along than what he was at that time.”
The team has been clear in stating Purdy will operate as the starter once he is back in the fold. Questions about Jones playing his way into the QB1 gig have grown in the wake of his surprisingly strong performances, but Purdy inked a five-year extension averaging $53MM per season this past offseason. The former ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ will be tasked with guiding the offense whenever he is back on the field.
Especially if the 49ers feel Purdy will not be fully healed in the event he returns in 2025, however, it remains to be seen when the team will truly feel comfortable playing him. As the team deals with a number of other high-profile injury matters, this one will continue to be worth watching closely.
That contract is aging like toe cheese
It was questionable at best. Purdy has proven serviceable but not top tier. He might get there someday but definitely not this year and maybe not next. Year three of the deal is where we will know if he was worth it.
with all the cash you have invested in him, why try to rush him back from a serious injury just to try to slip in the playoffs as a 7 seed?
The team’s performance has been impressive this year considering what they’ve had available, but it makes sense to take the long view. They’re already out Warner, Bosa, and Aiyuk. Turf toe is a rough injury that can really linger. No need to aggravate it in a year when too much is already working against them.
This is the craziest case of turf toe ever.
Deion sanders says “hold my beer”. He’s had to have at least two toes amputated due to turf toe from his nfl career.
No, his were amputated due to blood clots.
i thought he had it cut off during a game cuz it was broken
It does Not take an entire season for a Turf toe to heal. I’ve had one !!
So your going to pay a QB to sit on his A** , an entire season, because his toe hurts
There’s two good plans here. One would be to wait for Purdy to get healthy and then trade him and his contract for a second-rounder to a team like the NYJ or Browns who can’t pick QB’s and certainly can’t develop them. The dead money would be just $8 million. Keep Mac Jones, as Jones has shown he can thrive in a Shanahan system.
This would be ideal. Hélas, Purdy has a NTC (no trade clause) in his contract. The first year Purdy could be cut with reasonable dead money ($8 million instead of $66 million 2026, $20 million 2027) is 2028.
Mac Jones has only a two year contract, but the sensible choice is to keep Jones for the full two years and collect the compensatory 3d round pick when Jones signs somewhere else on a big contract. Since Mac Jones is not an NFL WR he will probably honour the second year of his contract without a holdout or a scandal.
This way the 49ers have the two QB’s they need to have at least one healthy all the way to a Super Bowl. Like most QB’s, Purdy would benefit from not playing hurt. The single star QB system seems to have aged badly with Daniels, Purdy, Burrow all out more or less for the season. Lamar Jackson missed quite a few games as well.