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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterNov 18, 2024, 08:06 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On an already lengthy injury list full of some of the biggest names on the team, the San Francisco 49ers had another significant addition Monday: quarterback Brock Purdy.
Coming out of Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Purdy is dealing with soreness in his right (throwing) shoulder, according to Niners coach Kyle Shanahan. At first blush, the shoulder issue does not appear to be long term, but Purdy will be watched closely when the Niners begin their practice week Wednesday.
“He’s day-to-day,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan wasn’t sure if there was a specific play that directly affected Purdy’s shoulder but said the soreness is likely the result of hits Purdy took during the game against Seattle. Shanahan added he didn’t think the shoulder soreness affected Purdy during the game.
Purdy was 21-of-28 for 159 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Seahawks while being sacked twice. He also rushed five times for 40 yards and a touchdown where he took some additional hits.
Still, Sunday’s game was a slog for a Niners offense that had its lowest total yardage output (277) since Week 6 of last season and couldn’t muster any plays longer than a 22-yard completion to wideout Jauan Jennings.
“I think they just did a good job with taking away our opportunities to go deep,” Purdy said. “They kept everything in front of them.”
Purdy isn’t the only key 49er the team will be monitoring for pain and soreness this week. Defensive end Nick Bosa‘s status appears as tenuous this week as it did last week after he injured his left hip and oblique against the Seahawks.
Bosa entered the Seattle game with a right hip and oblique issue, but when he sacked Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith with about nine minutes left in the third quarter Sunday, he felt a similar pain on the other side.
After the game, Bosa said he felt like he was “compensating” for the injury on the right side and indicated his status this week against the Green Bay Packers is up in the air.
Shanahan said Bosa still has a chance to play against the Packers and it’s too early to decide. Like last week, Bosa isn’t likely to do much in practice over the next few days.
“We’ll see how it goes this week,” Shanahan said. “[There’s] just as good of a chance for him not to play as play. But unless it’s an injury that you know has them knocked out … you don’t decide those things on Mondays.”
The 49ers’ defense was much better with Bosa on the field against Seattle than when he was off it. Seattle averaged 3.3 yards per play, scored no touchdowns and yielded three sacks with Bosa on the field, but those numbers moved to 6.1, two and one, respectively, with Bosa on the sideline.
“Brutal,” Bosa said Sunday. “The most important time in the game for me to be out there, I wasn’t able to be. I hate missing time. That’s why I pushed through last week. Hopefully, it’s not too long [to be out].”
The Niners will also be keeping an eye on tight end George Kittle (hamstring), left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (who has been away for personal reasons) this week.
Kittle did not play against the Seahawks despite practicing on a limited basis Thursday and Friday.
“He should practice on Wednesday,” Shanahan said. “I know it was close yesterday, so I think he should be good for practice on Wednesday.”
Williams, meanwhile, did not practice at all last week but still played 57 snaps and posted a perfect pass block win rate of 100% on 30 pass-blocking snaps.
“I know he is sore today,” Shanahan said. “I know he battled to play in that game and really appreciated him getting through it and out there, and we’ll see how he recovers here going into Wednesday.”
Ward has been away from the team since the Week 9 bye because of the death of his 1-year-old daughter. He attended Sunday’s game against Seattle and took part in Monday’s team meeting, according to Shanahan.
“He did some workouts here over the weekend with Dustin Perry, our strength and conditioning coach, and we’ll see how this week goes with him,” Shanahan said.
Elsewhere on the injury front, 49ers punt returner Jacob Cowing is in the concussion protocol and linebacker Tatum Bethune is expected to miss an extended period with a sprained MCL in his knee.
