San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday afternoon for his weekly interview, providing an update on quarterback Brock Purdy's recovery from the Week 1 toe injury that sidelined him for two games. Mac Jones started in Purdy's place for those contests.
The good news: Purdy appears to be trending toward starting Sunday's Week 4 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi's Stadium. His availability will ultimately depend on how he continues to progress in practice.
"Another day where he was able to get out there, do some stuff," Shanahan said. "I think it's feeling better each day, and if that continues, he should be good on Sunday. But hopefully, that continues. It's always delicate here with a toe. I saw him at practice. I haven't got to talk to him since after, but I think I'll have a better feeling about that tomorrow morning."
Purdy spoke to reporters after Thursday's practice, confirming that he is making good progress in his recovery.
"It's been good," Purdy said. "I really like where I'm at with the progress with it healing up, and feeling better, and dropping back, throwing, and I like where I'm at. So, it's been good."
When asked directly if he will play against the Jaguars, Purdy responded, "We'll see. I'm taking it day by day still, but I feel a lot better."
Purdy was among those who celebrated with his teammates this past weekend when kicker Eddy Piñeiro connected on the game-winning field goal. Does that mean he was already feeling much better in his recovery?
"It's no secret—it's been two-and-a-half weeks or so, and, just overall, my toe's healed up, it's gotten better," Purdy explained. "So when Eddy hit the game-winning field goal, yeah, I could jump a little bit. I was good enough to do that."
The quarterback has been a limited participant in practice for the past two weeks. While San Francisco hoped he would return last weekend against the Arizona Cardinals, the team ultimately ruled him out.
When asked if he's been able to do enough on the practice field to get ready to play in a game this weekend, Purdy said, "Definitely. Just dropping back, and throwing, and feeling good about playing the position of quarterback. For me, it's still a day-by-day thing, going up to game time and see how I feel, but I really do think that it's been good progress, good work. And I just feel better overall, just with my body, and mentally of attacking this game plan and being ready if I'm able to go."
Purdy isn't the only ailing 49ers quarterback. Jones re-aggravated a knee sprain he initially suffered in August, though he believes he will be available this weekend if Purdy cannot play.
Now in his fourth NFL season, Purdy is playing under the five-year, $265 million contract extension he signed in May. In the regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, he completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 277 yards, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions.