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The 49ers are getting ready for a key “Thursday Night Football” battle with the Seahawks. San Francisco can clinch the NFC West with a win but will have to do so on the road in a hostile Seattle environment.
The 49ers may also have to do it without their latest starting quarterback.
Brock Purdy’s status for Thursday night’s game has come into question during the week. The rookie, who made his first start in a win over the Buccaneers on Sunday, is dealing with oblique and rib injuries that have kept him limited in practice during the week.
Purdy doesn’t appear to be in too bad a shape, but his status will need to be watched closely, especially since the 49ers would be on to their fourth-string quarterback if Purdy can’t go.
Will Purdy be able to play against the Seahawks? Here’s the latest injury update about the 49ers quarterback and what the team would do if he isn’t able to start on Thursday night.
MORE: Is Kenneth Walker III playing for the 49ers on Thursday night?
Is Brock Purdy playing Thursday night in Week 15?
The 49ers have yet to officially announce whether Purdy is playing on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 15. He was slapped with the dreaded “questionable” tag after he logged limited participation in practice all week due to rib and oblique injuries.
This wasn’t a big surprise, as 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan indicated it was unlikely he would know Purdy’s status by Wednesday afternoon. A decision on Purdy’s availability will instead come Thursday.
“We’ll find out as these two days go,” Shanahan said, per 49ersWebZone.com. “We don’t have much time, but we’re not going to try to figure that out today or tomorrow. It will probably be on Thursday where we have the best chance to know.”
Shanahan acknowledged that Purdy’s injury shouldn’t get any worse if he decides to play. It’s just a matter of whether he can play through the pain.
The good news for 49ers fans (and fantasy football managers) is that Purdy said he “feels good” ahead of the game.
“Just taking it one day at a time, getting as much treatment as I can,” Purdy said. “But overall, I feel pretty good.”
So, that seems to indicate that Purdy has a chance to suit up on the short week. But if not, the 49ers will have to turn to the ultimate journeyman to start for them.
MORE: Revisiting why the 49ers draft Brock Purdy, made him Mr. Irrelevant
Who is the 49ers’ backup QB?
Josh Johnson is set to back up Brock Purdy in Week 15. If Purdy is unable to go, it is expected that the veteran would get the starting nod, the 10th of his long-spanning NFL career and just his second since 2019.
Johnson has plenty of experience at the NFL level. The 36-year-old was a fifth-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and spent the first four seasons of his career with the Buccaneers. From there, Johnson bounced around a lot and has played for 13 different NFL teams and 17 professional football clubs in total.
The 49ers signed Johnson off the Broncos practice squad after Garoppolo’s injury against the Dolphins in Week 13. It is his fourth different stint with the 49ers; he was with the team at the end of the 2020 season and spent part of the 2021 season with them too, so he is familiar with Shanahan’s system.
Johnson played for the 49ers in their blowout win over the Buccaneers. He completed 1 of 2 passes for 10 yards and ran twice for three yards as he attempted to kill the clock.
MORE: How Josh Johnson — the NFL’s ultimate journeyman — has played for 14 different teams
49ers QB depth chart
Below is a look at the quarterbacks the 49ers currently have on their active roster and practice squad.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Brock Purdy |
| 2 | Josh Johnson |
| 3 | Jacob Eason |
Purdy and Johnson are expected to be the team’s two active quarterbacks each week for the rest of the season — unless Garoppolo is able to return during the postseason. Behind those two, San Francisco has Eason, a big-armed 25-year-old who was a fourth-round pick of the Colts in 2020.
Eason has completed 5 of 10 passes with the Colts and Panthers for 84 yards and two interceptions. He is currently on the 49ers’ practice squad and it seems that San Francisco believes he is a developmental quarterback; that’s part of the reason it signed Johnson.
Eason could be activated from the practice squad on Thursday night in case Purdy can’t go or the 49ers worry he can’t finish the game. Eason’s elevation status for Thursday’s game could clue us into what San Francisco believes Purdy will be able to do during the rivalry game against Seattle.