What the Plan is for Brock Purdy in the 49ers' First Preseason Game

The plan is now clear for Brock Purdy when the 49ers play in their first preseason game against the Raiders this Sunday.

The joint practices with the Raiders is quickly approaching for the 49ers.

Both teams will square off in back-to-back days this week before one final matchup in a live preseason game on Aug. 13. All eyes will be on Brock Purdy to see how many snaps he will take, or if he even plays at all. On Monday, Kyle Shanahan shared what the plan is for Purdy in the 49ers first preseason game. 

“I doubt Brock plays," said Shanahan. "We haven't fully decided it yet. Usually when we go scrimmage against guys, I rarely play our starters. That's usually my plan going into it, because I’m a little more into the practices than the games. But I've changed my mind a couple times too based off how those practices go. So usually that's our plan, but we'll see how those practices go.” 

Purdy's status being in doubt is not a surprise. Last week, I wrote how the 49ers will manage Purdy in the preseason with the first game most likely being a D.N.P. for him. Given how the 49ers have slowly integrated him into training camp, it made sense for them to hold off on playing him in the first game. Shanahan prefers to put all the energy into the joint practice with Purdy as he views that as a greater benefit than a preseason game. 

"You get to make sure that guys are getting evaluated. You do normal plays, you get to put guys in situations. You never know how a game's going to unfold, what the situations are, who's in there. Sometimes you get in situations where you can't do stuff based off of protections and things like that in games. So in practice you get to get everything done and you get to learn a lot more about the guys, to me, than you do in the games."

With Purdy most likely inactive for Week 1 of the preseason, it makes you think if he could miss the preseason entirely. This all depends on how cautious the 49ers want to be with Purdy and if his elbow is still going strong. I'd imagine he will play in the second game for a couple of series, then a whole quarter in the third one. Shanahan gave his thoughts when he was asked if he thinks Purdy needs to play at all in the preseason.

“I think it's always good to play. I don't think he has to, a lot of guys don't have to, but it usually helps."

A vague answer from Shanahan. One that gives him the option to withhold Purdy from the preseason or play him. Regardless, I still believe Purdy will see some action this preseason. They have to see a little bit of how he looks in a real game. The season opener in Pittsburgh against the Steelers is going to be a battle. Keeping Purdy out of the entire preseason won't help him be ready for that game. 

Of course, there is always risk in rolling him out there, but then you have to question why the 49ers can't protect their quarterback if he goes out for only a couple of series. That would be extremely alarming. For now, I would expect Purdy to be out of preseason Week 1, then make his debut in Week 2 against the Broncos at home.