The San Francisco 49ers lost a stinker of a game on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the shaky play of quarterback Brock Purdy is at least partly to blame.
The Niners will now pay the price for rushing him back early.
Week 4 was only Purdy's second game of the year as he injured his toe in a Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Backup Mac Jones filled in nicely in Weeks 2 and 3, delivering victories, but it seems San Francisco may have rushed Purdy back as he looked off against Jacksonville.
He did not have his best game, completing 22 of his 38 passes for 309 passing yards and two touchdown passes as well as two costly interceptions with a lost fumble late in the game that sealed the contest.
He made some good throws, but it seemed he was somewhat limited by the toe injury and was not as on point as we have come to expect from Purdy. Those suspicions were confirmed on Monday as head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Purdy told him his toe injury was bothering him after the game.
Even general manager John Lynch confirmed as much heading into Week 5:
"I think he's listed as questionable. That's a true reflection of where he's at right now."
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 30, 2025
John Lynch on Brock Purdy's ailing toe and his truly questionable designation for Thursday night. Lynch said Pearsall is also questionable, and that he'll "see how far he can get on the… pic.twitter.com/GnUCi934qq
This is pretty alarming since the 49ers have to play the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. Unless Purdy's condition improves dramatically, he could be out for that game, which would be his third missed start of the season.
Given how big every single divisional game is going to be this season in an NFC West that is already quite bunched up, one would think the Niners would have rather had Purdy ready to go on Thursday against LA rather than risk further injury against the Jaguars on Sunday.
As things stand, San Francisco may be better served starting Jones over Purdy in Week 5 if he is healthier than Purdy. The former looked solid in his first two starts, so he may give the Niners a better chance to win.
Now, the 49ers may regret bringing Purdy back before they were certain he was fully recovered from his injury and could play without any ill effects. He may well be rusty for his next start even if he is healthy, and there may only be louder calls for a quarterback controversy if Jones has another good start against LA.
So, the decision to rush Purdy back has the potential to complicate things on several fronts for the rest of the season.