On Sunday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers picked up a big road win over the Seattle Seahawks to push their record to 1-0 on the young 2025 NFL season. Unfortunately, the 49ers didn't make it through this game unscathed, as tight end George Kittle went down with an injury, and quarterback Brock Purdy is also reported to be dealing with some ailments heading into Week 2.
Recently, NFL insider James Palmer detailed why he thinks Purdy may be out of the lineup in favor of a familiar face to NFL fans next week vs the New Orleans Saints.
“…Brock Purdy is battling a shoulder injury that's not that severe to my understanding on his non-throwing shoulder. The toe is the real issue and the toe could be the one that keeps him off the field,” said Palmer, per NFL Insider Notebook. “Kyle Shanahan was not at the podium yesterday talking about, you know, we'll see how he goes through the week. We'll see how he progresses. We'll see how much he can practice. He said if he can't go, Mac Jones, we have a lot of faith in him. I would read into that.”
Mac Jones is indeed on the 49ers' roster and could theoretically serve as a serviceable backup for Purdy in the event that he needed to miss some time.
A tough break for the 49ers
While losing both Kittle and potentially Brock Purdy will sting for a San Francisco 49ers team that had their 2024 season derailed by injuries, the good news is, if there's any team you'd feel comfortable playing your backup quarterback against, it would probably be the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints are widely viewed as having the worst roster in the NFL this year and stumbled out of the gates to an 0-1 start against the Arizona Cardinals last week in front of their home fans.
Mac Jones may not have panned out as the elite draft prospect he was once touted as, but he might get the chance to make some noise for himself next week against New Orleans.
The 49ers and Saints are slated to kick off on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET from New Orleans.
