San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy isn't letting early-season injuries shake his confidence. Although he has been without reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey for the first two games—McCaffrey will miss at least the next three with Achilles tendinitis—Purdy remains optimistic. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel also left Week 2's loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a calf strain.
As if missing two of his biggest playmakers wasn't enough, tight end George Kittle missed practice on Thursday due to a hamstring injury. On the defensive side, cornerback Charvarius Ward missed practice with hamstring and knee issues, while defensive end Nick Bosa was limited due to a rib injury.
Despite these setbacks, Purdy retains his confidence in the remaining players and head coach Kyle Shanahan's ability to scheme people open.
"Obviously, it sucks not having your guys, like Deebo and Christian and stuff," Purdy said on Thursday. "So it's like, 'All right, how can we figure out [how] to get the ball to other guys?' But, man, we've got playmakers. I've said that before. We've got a really good scheme, a great play-caller, and some great players that step up in the roles and do their job really well.
"So for me, I still have to do my job in terms of my reads and my progressions, more so than I need to now change the way I think and make sure I'm getting it to this guy or that guy because a couple of guys are out. It's not like that."
While Purdy has completed an impressive 72.3 percent of his passes and thrown an NFL-leading 550 passing yards, the third-year quarterback has tossed only one interception and threw a pick on Sunday against the Vikings.
"So, that's the challenge for me, is how can I continue to be better with my progressions and as a quarterback, and handling situations, and being as efficient as I can, regardless of who's in," Purdy continued. "So that's where my mindset is at with this game, and, obviously, I'd love to have my guys back and playing with them, but that's just how it is with this game sometimes."
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