San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday morning, where he was asked about quarterback Brock Purdy's recovery from a toe injury.
Purdy suffered the setback in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, forcing him to miss the Week 2 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. However, he returned to practice on Wednesday—earlier than most expected—though as a limited participant.
"I can tell you that it was encouraging to see him practice," Lynch said. "He was limited yesterday, [which] means he got out there and he had some activity. I think everyone saw that. The key now is how does he respond to that? So we'll find that out here later today, see if he can get back out there.
"Mac [Jones] is preparing and will be prepared, as will Adrian Martinez. And so, we'll be ready to go. We'll make an organizational decision on where Brock's at later in the week, but it's encouraging to see him out there. And he's doing a heck of a job attacking the rehab every way that he can, spending countless hours, and doing a really good job with it, as is our training staff. And so, we'll see where that goes as the week develops."
Mac Jones started in place of Purdy against the Saints, completing 66.7 percent of his 39 attempts for 279 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with a 113.1 passer rating while helping the 49ers improve to 2-0.
Could Jones' strong performance impact Purdy's return timeline?
"No, I think you make a decision that is best for Brock and best for our team," Lynch explained. "And so, that's short-term, long-term, and we'll take everything into account. But it's about where Brock is. Do we feel comfortable putting him out there? If not, we do know that we feel very comfortable with Mac.
"But I think you have to be careful about that. You've got to make sure these guys are right and able to go perform at the level, from the ability to perform. But most of all, their health, and not just looking at it short-term, but long-term. So we'll take all those things into account and make a good decision."
When asked if Purdy could suit up this week in a backup role behind Jones, Lynch didn't rule it out.
"You could see that," Lynch admitted. "I think all things are on the table, and it truly is. Like I said, he did some things out at the practice field; very encouraged by that.
"We'll see how he progresses today, see if he can do a little more today, and then take it into the weekend and figure out exactly how we're going to play that thing out."
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