Shanahan hopes Purdy plays in 49ers-Bengals, confident in Darnold

SANTA CLARA — Coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers continue to hold out hope quarterback Brock Purdy will work his way through the NFL's concussion protocol in order to be available to play Sunday. But if Purdy is not available to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 at Levi's Stadium, backup quarterback Sam Darnold will have the opportunity to give the team some return on their offseason investment. "I have as much confidence in Sam as I could have with someone that I haven't gone into a real NFL game with," Shanahan said. The 49ers signed Darnold at the outset of the NFL free agent signing period to a one-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $5.1 million. Incentives were built into his contract that could double his pay for the season. The decision to acquire Darnold came at a time when Purdy's status was unknown after elbow surgery and Trey Lance was in the final stages of recovering from a fractured lower leg. The 49ers were up-front all along that Purdy would be the starter when he got healthy. Then, Darnold beat out Lance in training camp to earn the backup role. Rather than retain Lance as the No. 3 quarterback, the 49ers traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for a...