The San Francisco 49ers appear to have dodged a bullet. In a season where not much has gone right for the defending NFC Champions, the team received some good news earlier this week regarding quarterback Brock Purdy's elbow injury. On Monday night against the Detroit Lions, Purdy sustained the injury late in the game when he was sacked. The 49ers and the fanbase were initially concerned that his repaired UCL may have been compromised. You likely recall the 2022 NFC Championship Game, in which Purdy tore his UCL when his arm was hit while throwing the ball.
But test results revealed it was nothing to be concerned about. There is no long-term effect, but Purdy will not play on Sunday. Still, Head Coach Kyle Shanahan admitted to NBC Sports Bay Area's Greg Papa that he was worried at first.
"I was [concerned] because I have post-traumatic stress from that [2023 NFC Championship] game," Shanahan revealed on '49ers Game Plan.' "I remember he came over to me in the Philly game and told me that and I didn't see much of it. So, he's like, 'Kyle, I can't feel my arm,' and I'm like, 'Ok, I don't know what that means, but go check it out.' And I know what that led to.
"He said the same thing to me when he came over [on Monday night], 'Kyle, I don't know what's going on but I can't feel my arm.' But very quickly, the trainers came up to me and said that he had gotten hit in the funny bone, he's got some nerve things going on, we think it's alright but he's probably not going to get back out there. Once they told me that, I felt better pretty fast."
The 49ers went into the 2023 training camp not knowing what to expect from Purdy. He had been rehabbing from his UCL surgery the entire offseason. The 49ers brought in QB Sam Darnold as insurance in case Purdy wasn't able to play for part of the season. But the 49ers quarterback was ready for week one and had a Pro Bowl season that ended with him leading his team to overtime of the Super Bowl.
After the 2023 season, Darnold left in free agency, and the 49ers brought in journeyman QB Joshua Dobbs to join Brandon Allen as one of the 49ers backup quarterbacks. Dobbs had played for four other teams before joining the 49ers. He will start in Purdy's place this Sunday in Arizona.
So what does Shanahan expect of Dobbs this Sunday?
"To be just how he always been when he comes in," Shanahan said. "Josh prepares as well as any quarterback I've been around. I mean, [Monday night] showed it right there, just to come in in that situation at the end of the game. I mean, no hesitation, he's firing right away, knows exactly when to rip the ball, goes to the right spots and when something wasn't there, he broke and got us a touchdown scrambling."
Dobbs was excellent coming in for Purdy against Detroit. He led the 49ers on a touchdown drive, going 3 for 4 for 35 yards. But he added another seven yards on the ground, which included the touchdown. It was a small sample size, but Dobbs did exactly what his team needed him to do. According to Shanahan, he's prepared well this week and is ready for Sunday.
"He's been great all week running the show, getting used to some of the guys, the cadence, and things like that," Shanahan said. "But that's why we brought him here. When Josh has gotten into games, he gives his team a chance to win, and he did that for us on Monday when he got in, and I plan on him doing the same thing this Sunday."
Shanahan said one of the things that made the 49ers want to add Dobbs to the team was how well he played against them in 2023 when he was with the Cardinals, the team Dobbs and the 49ers will face on Sunday. "We studied him that week and thought he was playing their offense very well, and he had only been there for like two weeks at the time; so, I thought that was really impressive.
"And then he carried that right over to our game," Shanahan added. We were on that day on offense…but the way he was playing made me nervous. At any time, if we wouldn't have scored, we knew they were creeping on us. He played at such a high level in that game and continued that throughout that year and did it for a couple of other teams, too. So, when we had the chance to get him this summer, we were pumped to get him."
Dobbs faced the 49ers in week 4 last season. He completed 68% of his passes while throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 12 times for 48 yards. He was a problem for the 49ers that day. Can he be a problem for his former team on Sunday?