Packer Central

Update: What Is Status of 49ers QB Brock Purdy vs. Packers?

The Green Bay Packers will face either a limited Brock Purdy or a backup quarterback when they host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Bill Huber

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is pressured by Karl Brooks during last year's playoff game vs. the Packers.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is pressured by Karl Brooks during last year's playoff game vs. the Packers. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
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Note: San Francisco 49errs quarterback Brock Purdy is out for Sunday. Here is the story on a huge day of injury news.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will be facing Brandon Allen instead of Brock Purdy when they host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Purdy, who was an NFL MVP candidate while leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl last year, suffered an injured right (throwing) shoulder during Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Purdy was limited participation at practice on Wednesday and Thursday, and he did not practice on Friday. Coach Kyle Shanahan ruled him out on Friday.

"I don't want to say there's long-term concern," Shanahan told reporters. "We got the MRI on Monday. We thought he just needed some rest and really weren't concerned about him not being good this week. But when he started up Thursday, it just surprised him, surprised us how it felt. So, we had to shut him down. So I really don't know what to think of it.

"The MRI doesn't look like that, so it should be all right. But the way it responded this week, it's really up in the air for next week. So, we'll have to see on Monday."

A dire tone was struck earlier in the day by 49ers general manager John Lynch.

"We’ll see where he’s at today,” Lynch told KNBR Radio in San Francisco (via 49ersWebzone.com). “Hopefully, he makes progress, and we can have a shot at this weekend, but we’ll see. I think it is tenuous.”

The 49ers were concerned enough to give Purdy an MRI.

“We feel good about where it’s at from that standpoint," Lynch said. "But still, you have to be able to go out and operate. Brock’s going to show up here today, and we’ll see where he can go in terms of practice, and we’ll make some decisions accordingly.”

Despite questions about his arm strength, Purdy has done nothing but win and produce during his three seasons.

Including playoffs, Purdy went 7-0 as the 49ers’ starter as the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. He led them to the NFC Championship Game but was injured early in a blowout loss to the Eagles.

In 2023, he went 14-5 as the starter, with the 49ers beating the Packers in the divisional playoffs and losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

With the 49ers losing 20-17 to the Seahawks last week, they are just 5-5 this year. Their playoff hopes are in jeopardy, so there’s no doubt the Niners would rather give Purdy a shot rather than roll with backup Brandon Allen.

“I know that he fought through it throughout the course of the game,” Lynch said. “And I’m not saying anything debilitating, but I did see him, during the course of the game, throwing a lot in between. Anytime there was a pause in the game, he kept throwing. And so I think, at that point, you’re probably feeling something, but I think he was so focused on trying to win that game.”

Purdy didn’t throw at Wednesday’s practice. He did throw for a bit on Thursday but didn’t feel right, so went inside to rehab, instead.

Allen was a sixth-round pick by the Jaguars in 2016. He’s started nine career games – three with Denver in 2019, five with Cincinnati in 2020 and one with Cincinnati in 2021.

In 16 career performances, he’s completed 56.7 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 78.0 passer rating.

While he has some experience, none of it is recent. Allen threw three passes in 2022, zero in 2023 and zero this season.

This preseason, Allen completed 63.3 percent of his passes, with zero touchdowns, zero interceptions and an 81.8 rating.

The other option is Joshua Dobbs. A fourth-round pick by the Steelers in 2017, he has thrown 502 passes with 15 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 77.3 passer rating. In 14 career starts with the Titans (2022), Cardinals (2023) and Vikings (2023), he is 3-11.

This preseason, he completed 66.7 percent of his passes with one touchdown, one interception and an 84.7 rating.

Purdy has thrown 920 passes in regular-season play in his career. Among quarterbacks in NFL history with at least that number of passes, Purdy ranks No. 1 with a 106.3 passer rating, No. 1 with a 67.8 percent completion rate and is tied with Otto Graham for No. 1 with 9.0 yards per attempt.

This season, he’s completed 66.0 percent of his passes, averaged 8.5 yards per attempt and has a 95.9 passer rating.

“It’s hard to make a lot of progress after the way he played last year, and it was hard to make a lot of progress after the way he played seven games in his first year,” Shanahan said on Thursday. “So, I think Brock’s playing at the exact same level.

“I think there’s different circumstances around him. Our team hasn’t been quite as good through this, but it’s been close to getting there and close doesn’t matter. That’s why we’re 5-5, but a couple plays here and there and I think we’re looking at it totally differently.”

Coach Matt LaFleur on Wednesday said the Packers were getting ready for Purdy.

“I would fully expect him to play,” LaFleur said. “He’s a damn good quarterback. I think that, I mean, you don’t, you don’t put up the kind of numbers that they’re able to put up offensively without a quarterback that can go out there and do it. And I think the one thing that makes him so special, just studying him over the last couple years is just, I think he’s got a great feel in the pocket of when to escape or when to hang in there.”

Purdy has thrown 13 touchdowns vs. eight interceptions this season. In the Niners’ five wins, he’s thrown just one pick.

“He’s a guy that can improvise on his feet. He’s smart. He makes great checks,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “He usually keeps the ball inside. A lot of his throws are really on the inside part of the field.

“He’s a really good quarterback and I think he’s got guys around him that make him even better and, obviously, I think he’s got a great scheme around him, too. So, it’s a lot of different factors, but he’s a good quarterback.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.