The San Francisco 49ers confirmed that quarterback Brock Purdy will start Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, marking his first start since Week 1. Head coach Kyle Shanahan made the announcement following Friday's practice, and Purdy was not given an injury designation for the matchup, clearing him to play.
When asked about Purdy's progress this week, Shanahan said, "It looked good. Got to do a lot more than last week, and each day got a lot better."
Purdy was questionable heading into last week's matchup with the Arizona Cardinals before ultimately being ruled out. Shanahan was asked if he was surprised by the speed of Purdy's recovery, which allowed him to be fully cleared to play two days ahead of the upcoming game.
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"Not really," Shanahan said. "That was what we were hoping for. We knew it could go either way, but the fact that we even considered him to be an emergency guy last week, just talking to him on Monday and Tuesday, and he wasn't full on Wednesday or Thursday, but you could tell it was going that direction. And as long as he woke up today feeling good, we kind of expected it."
The coach added that preparation is never a concern with Purdy.
"Brock, he's always prepared," Shanahan said. "He's played in games with zero practice, and he got, for the most part, all of it this week."
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Mac Jones, who started the past two games in Purdy's absence, is listed as questionable with a knee injury. If Jones is unable to play, practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez could be elevated to serve as Purdy's primary backup.
Purdy's return is expected to provide a significant mental boost for the 49ers' offense.
"The guys have so much confidence in Brock," Shanahan said. "They obviously had a lot in Mac before and even had more after going through those two games with him. But just getting Brock back, just the command he has in the huddle, the confidence he gives guys around him, not only in the huddle, during the plays, and just around the building, it's always nice to have him back in there."
Meanwhile, wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are both questionable for Sunday, leaving Purdy's pass-catching group potentially shorthanded against Jacksonville.