Update, Oct. 28 — San Francisco has announced that Brock Purdy has cleared concussion protocol and will start on Sunday vs. Cincinnati.
Update, Oct. 27 PM — Purdy practiced on Friday and appears to be set to start on Sunday if he passes the final step of concussion protocol.
Brock Purdy has one concussion protocol step to pass tomorrow. He was full-go at practice today. He will “definitely” start for the 49ers against the Bengals if he passes the Saturday test, per Shanahan
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 27, 2023
Update, Oct. 27 — Purdy remains in the league’s concussion protocol as of Friday. He was limited in practice on Thursday and, for now, is expected to be back at practice Friday.
As this day begins, #49ers GM John Lynch said on @KNBR that QB Brock Purdy remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol. Purdy was listed as “limited” in practice Thursday, an indication he was symptom-free and making progress.
— Matt Maiocco (Threads @maiocconbcs) (@MaioccoNBCS) October 27, 2023
Update, Oct. 26 — Purdy returned to practice on Thursday but remains in the league’s concussion protocol. He participated in non-contact drills and is presumed to be in the final stages of the protocol. If Purdy plays this week, he would be the first player since 2022 who is able to play a game less than a week since entering the protocol.
Return to non-contact practice usually means that the athlete is in the 4th step of the 5-step concussion protocol. Already cleared symptoms, no symptoms with aerobic or strength training. If no symptoms after practice, the remaining step is clearance by team doc and independent… https://t.co/RYleUuO8O5
— DocFlynn (@DocFlynnNFL) October 26, 2023
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy has been placed into the NFL’s concussion protocol ahead of the team’s Week 8 matchup vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. The 49ers are coming off a second straight loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in Week 7. That was while the team was without WR Deebo Samuel. The Niners keep getting hit on offense and Purdy could be the latest. It will be difficult for him to clear protocol in time to play this week. We’ll go over the impact if Purdy is held out.
Brock Purdy injury: Fantasy football impact
If Purdy is out, backup QB Sam Darnold would be in line to start vs. the Bengals. He has completed one pass all season with the Niners. Last season, Darnold started six games for the Carolina Panthers, going 4-2 with a 92.6 QB rating. He finished out the season for the Panthers after missing most of 2022 due to a high-ankle sprain. Darnold was decent taking over for Baker Mayfield.
The 49ers offense may not take a huge hit if Darnold is starting. He wasn’t all that bad on a bad Panthers team last season. Having Christian McCaffrey, Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle will be a big upgrade. So this isn’t a situation where we need to panic on any of San Francisco’s skill position players in fantasy football. If anything, Purdy being out would be a boost for CMC, who already gets most of the work out of the backfield.
The spread has moved from 49ers -5.5 to -4 since the Purdy news. Most of the bets were coming in on the Bengals to cover that initial spread. We could see more of the bets shift to the 49ers depending on how the sharps view Darnold leading the team. Purdy hadn’t been playing well to begin with over the past two weeks in those losses. So Darnold could be even or a better option at QB. If the line continues to move in favor of Cincinnati, it may be decent to hop on the Niners. There’s got to be urgency about losing a potential third straight game. Plus, head coach Kyle Shanahan should have a game plan in place to make Darnold successful.
