SANTA CLARA — No Brock Purdy. No Nick Bosa. No chance for the 49ers on Sunday in Green Bay?
“We’re missing two good players definitely but we’ll have a lot of good players out there,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan countered. “By no means do we have no chance to win. We’ll fight our tails off. We’ll expect a real good game.”
Purdy’s throwing-shoulder soreness will force him to miss his first game due to injury since becoming the 49ers’ starting quarterback nearly two years ago, and that thrusts ninth-year journeyman Brandon Allen into his 10th career start and first since 2021 with Cincinnati.
Bosa’s oblique and hip injuries will sideline him for his first game of this wobbly season. Also ruled out were cornerback Charvarius Ward (personal), return specialist Jacob Cowing (concussion), defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) and linebacker Tatum Bethune (knee), while left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) is questionable as a game-time decision for a second straight game.
Tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) are good to go for an offense that must be made without Purdy at the NFL’s most historic venue.
Allen, who last threw a regular-season pass in 2022 as Joe Burrow’s backup in Cincinnati, will guide the 49ers’ offense in a key game as San Francisco aims to make a playoff push.
“It’s an opportunity,” Allen said. “The circumstances are what they are. Our team all year long, we’ve been dealing with injuries here or there. It’s been a big next-man-up mentality. It’s definitely an opportunity for me to go out, play well, put our guys in a good position to win the game.
“Obviously we want Brock back and healthy and all that,” Allen added. “For the time being, it is an opportunity for me.”
Josh Dobbs, who lost out to Allen in training camp and the preseason for the QB2 role, will serve in that capacity Sunday at Lambeau Field, where neither quarterback has played a regular-season game. Rookie Tanner Mordecai likely will be elevated from the practice squad Saturday to serve as the emergency No. 3 quarterback.
Purdy wore a resigned, dour expression but offered upbeat words as he walked through the locker room, saying: “We’re all good.”
This is not how Shanahan scripted it earlier in the week.
“(Purdy) got the MRI on Monday, we thought he just needed some rest and really weren’t concerned about not being there this week,” Shanahan said Friday.
“I don’t want to say there’s a long-term concern,” Shanahan said Friday. “We got the MRI on Monday. We thought he just needed some rest and really weren’t concerned about him not being good this week.”
Purdy rested his arm Wednesday, then left the practice field Thursday after a few light throws.
“It surprised him, surprised us how it felt, so we had to shut him down,” Shanahan said. “The MRI doesn’t look like (it’s serious) so it should be alright. But the way it responded this week, it’s really up in the air for next week. We’ll have to see on Monday.”
The 49ers follow this week’s trip at Green Bay with a prime-time appearance next Sunday, Dec. 1 in Buffalo.
“I know this is like the first time Brock’s missed a game probably in his life,” Allen said. “He’s a tough guy and I’m not too worried about it. I don’t think any of our guys are. He’ll rehab and get back as fast as he can.”
No one is saying when Purdy got hurt in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to Seattle, whether it was from diving for the goal line on his first-quarter touchdown scramble or later in the game. Shanahan did note that Purdy struggled to keep his shoulder loose and threw on the sideline, then the pain intensified after the game and into Monday.
“It was somewhere during that Seattle game and I’m not sure Brock knows,” general manager John Lynch said on KNBR. “He fought through it through the course of the game. I did see him during the course of the game, anytime there was a pause, he kept throwing. At that point, you’re feeling something but he was so focused on trying to win.”
Shanahan lauded Allen as a “really good thrower” who “runs our offense well” and that “guys believe in him.”
The feeling is mutual on Allen’s side, as he explained what it was like as Purdy’s stand-in on the starting unit in practice this week: “It’s been a blessing to have them in the huddle with me and the leadership that’s in the huddle, So I can just come in and fill the spot for Brock for now, just try to make some plays and get the ball in their hands.”
Added Shanahan: “It’s not a big game-plan adjustment. This is something we didn’t think would happen early in the week. We were fully preparing for Brock to go.”
The Packers prepared that way, too. Allen is no total stranger, however. Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters Friday in Green Bay, prior to Purdy’s no-show practice: “I know Brandon. I was with him in LA (in 2017). He’s been in the league a long time. But I wouldn’t expect their offense to change a whole bunch.”
BOSA WILL REMAIN HOME
While Purdy traveled with the 49ers to Green Bay, Bosa was staying behind to rehabilitate the upper-body injuries that forced him to miss Sunday’s fourth-quarter collapse against Seattle. It will be the first game Bosa has missed since Oct. 16, 2022 with a groin injury. The 49ers lost a road game that day to Atlanta 28-14 during a season in which Bosa was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Sam Okuayinonu figures to make his first career start in place of Bosa while Leonard Floyd makes his 11th start at the other defensive end slot.
WILLIAMS QUESTIONABLE
Williams, with the help of a pain-killing injection, made it through the Seattle loss at what he said afterwards was 65 percent. Although listed as questionable, Shanahan reiterated Williams’ status could go right up to kickoff. Jaylon Moore likely would start in place of Williams, if needed.
WARD BACK NEXT WEEK?
Ward, mourning the death of his 23-month-old daughter, was declared out but Shanahan hopes to have the All-Pro cornerback next week when the 49ers visit Buffalo.
“He’s taken three full weeks off,” Shanahan said. “It’s not like dealing with all that stuff he’s getting workouts in and all that. We’re just happy to have him back in the building this week. We don’t want to put any pressure on him, hopefully he’ll be good to go next week.”
Among those listed as questionable is guard/center Jon Feliciano, whose 21-day window of practicing while on injured reserve is about to expire. If the 49ers don’t put Feliciano on the 53-man roster by Monday, he’ll spend the rest of the season on injured reserve.
Originally Published: