It was a difficult decision for San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to decide how to handle quarterback Brock Purdy in a Week 18 matchup against the Rams that has little bearing on the team’s postseason chances. He wants Purdy to keep up the pace that made him a front-runner for the NFL MVP award, on the one hand. However, he also wants Purdy to be fit and well-rested before the 49ers’ playoff game in the divisional round in two and a half weeks.
Shanahan ultimately made a decision, which he disclosed on Wednesday.
“I don’t plan on playing, and Brock Purdy is the only guy for sure,” Shanahan stated during his press conference on Wednesday. Brock Purdy’s 2023 regular season came to a close, and he was given the week of Week 18 off.
All 18 Snaps to Go to Sam Darnold
Purdy’s individual standings in a number of metric categories, including yards passing, may suffer as a result of the decision. With a week off, he is expected to drop to fifth place in the NFL, as Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Jared Goff are all set to surpass him. He had accumulated 4,280 passing yards, which was second in the league.
With 31 touchdowns, he is also second in the NFL and is certain to fall further down that list as well. Three quarterbacks would need three touchdowns to tie up Purdy, and Jordan Love of the Packers has 30 touchdown throws.
Shanahan, who stated he had few options due to NFL regulations limiting the number of players he could rest (a team must dress 48 players plus two practice squad players), evidently did not give any thought to it.
With a 53-man roster, that entails two practice squad members who can be rotated out and five players who can be rested. With six 49ers players probably sidelined due to injuries, Shanahan had one available position for free rest.
“One, if you get two practice squad players up, you can only rest seven guys if nobody is injured. At least six of our players are currently injured. We can only rest one, therefore I went with our starting quarterback,” Shanahan remarked. Naturally, that starting quarterback is Brock Purdy.
He also mentioned that the idea was to spend the whole 18th week as Sam Darnold’s backup. He did not plan for Brandon Allen, the third stringer, to receive playing time.
Consistent 49ers Training Schedule for Brock Purdy
Making sure Purdy is prepared for the postseason opening is the key for Shanahan and the 49ers. Given the amount of time off he is receiving—first in Week 18 and then during the wild-card playoff bye—that is not an easy feat.
Maintaining a regular practice regimen is one method to do it. That’s how the Purdy plan works.
Shanahan remarked, “Brock Purdy, we’re treating this as a normal week.” Since it’s a typical Wednesday during this season, we move slowly through everything. Wednesdays are not when we accomplish anything at full pace this time of year. Half of the reps with the ones will go to Brock. Sam is going to get the other. This week should be seen by our squad as Brock going down like it’s the first play of the match. That’s why I want them both to represent it now.
“I hope Brock finds some employment this week. I would like us to be prepared for that in the awful event that it occurs. Sam should definitely get the most of them on Thursday when everything is going full throttle. We’ll discuss that further after today. We’re back to walk-through on Friday.
Leave a Reply