How Deebo Samuel's Absence Will Affect 49ers QB Brock Purdy

Purdy has thrown 16 inteceptions as a starting quarterback, and 43.8 percent of them occured when Samuel was injured. This stat does not bode well for this Sunday.

Nov 23, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) eats a turkey leg as he and quarterback Brock Purdy (13) jog to the locker room following a 31-13 victory against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Brock Purdy plays much better with Deebo Samuel than without him. That's a fact.

This Sunday, Purdy and the 49ers will have to face the Rams without Samuel, who will miss at least the next two games with a calf injury. Samuel is an excellent player who makes everyone around him better, particularly Purdy.

Purdy stil is relatively inexperienced -- he has started just 29 games in his career counting the playoffs. In 23 games with Deebo Samuel, Purdy has thrown just 9 picks, or one every two and a half games. That's very good. But in the six games in which Purdy has played most or all of the time without Samuel, he has thrown seven interceptions. That's roughly one per game. That's not very good.

Purdy has thrown 16 inteceptions as a starting quarterback, and 43.8 percent of them occured when Samuel was injured. This stat does not bode well for this Sunday.

The Rams currently have the worst defense in the NFL -- no team has given up more yards than they have threw two games. But the 49ers won't have Samuel or Christian McCaffrey -- they're both out. George Kittle likely won't play, either. Which means Purdy won't have his YAC receivers. He'll have to push the ball downfield, which means he might have to take some risks.

If the 49ers eventually make Purdy one of the highest-paid players in the NFL, he'll have to play lots of games without Samuel, McCaffrey and Kittle -- they'll be too expensive to keep around. This Sunday will be a sneak preview of the 49ers' future.