A downcast San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) sits on the bench as the final moments tick off in a 31-7 loss in the NFC Championship Game the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
SANTA CLARA — Steve Young is concerned.
The 49ers shut down Brock Purdy for their regular-season finale Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams and with a bye week to follow, Young wonders if it’s a good idea.
“I don’t like sitting out,” Young said on his weekly appearance on the 49ers’ flagship KNBR. “I’d rather warm up, play a quarter — even a half — and be done. That’s the way to kind of stay with it. Now you’re going to get the next week off so it’s 21 days. From a quarterback spot, that’s a hard restart. Every game you miss, it takes a half to fully get back up to speed.”
Far be it from me to challenge a Pro Football Hall of Famer and 49ers legend whose weekly takes on the radio are a must-listen.
Young obviously pays close attention to the 49ers, but in this case it’s hard to determine if he’s paying any attention at all.
Let’s review how Purdy makes an entrance following an extended break.
First, he missed the entire OTA/minicamp portion while rehabbing a surgically repaired UCL. Not only did Purdy make it back for the regular season, he had 19 snaps in the second and third preseason games against the Chargers and Broncos, going 10 of 14 for 138 yards with no interceptions.
Two weeks after the last preseason game, Purdy led the 49ers to a 30-7 road win in Pittsburgh, completing 19 of 29 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns and a 111.3 passer rating — the first of 10 100-plus-rating games he would accumulate in 2023. Coming off the bye week, Purdy was 19 of 26 for 296 yards and three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 148.9 rating in a 34-3 win over Jacksonville.
Purdy said Thursday the idea of not playing on Sunday goes against his nature and he told coach Kyle Shanahan as much.
“Just the initial conversation we had, I was like, `this is all I know is to prepare for the next game and get ready,” Purdy said. “Especially when we went out to practice . . . I’m practicing but not getting to go in the game. The competitor in me wants to play.”
Purdy conceded he had some of the same concerns as Young, but Shanahan helped ease his mind.
“He brought up some really good points,” Purdy said. “Not getting a lot of reps in the preseason and going into Pittsburgh. Same with the bye week, having a good performance against Jacksonville. I think I’ve done it this year in terms of having some rest and coming in to play. That’s something that feels good to go back and remind myself about.”
Purdy isn’t playing this week, but he’s practicing and preparing as if he were playing. And it’s not as if practicing against the 49ers’ defense counts for nothing.
“It’s not like I’m going to be sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing,” Purdy said.
Weigh all that against putting him on the field when left tackle Trent Williams may or may not be there, and a youthful Rams player hoping to make a name for himself gets a clean shot at the 49ers’ meal ticket. It won’t be like last year’s NFC Championship Game because this time Sam Darnold is around, but if Purdy were to be sidelined for playing in a meaningless game it would be coaching malpractice on Shanahan’s part.
WARD’S THREE-STEP PLAN
Pro Bowl? Check. Two more goals remain for 49ers cornerback Charvarius “Mooney” Ward. Next up is the announcement of the Associated Press All-Pro Team on Jan. 12, and the grand finale is winning Super Bowl LVIII.
In his sixth season, Ward was elected to his first Pro Bowl.
“It’s a good feeling,” Ward said. “It’s always been one of my dreams to be recognized as one of the best,” Ward said.
Ward is closing fast with three of his team-high five interceptions in the last three games. His red zone interception against Washington quarterback Sam Howell helped swing a 27-10 game the 49ers’ way for good. And he likes the chances of achieving his other two goals.
“It’s going to happen,” Ward said. “We’re going to be in Vegas.”
If Ward plays enough and gets an interception against the Rams, he’ll be the first 49ers player with six in a season since safety Dashon Goldson and cornerback Carlos Rogers in 2011.
THE AIYUK ‘SNUB’
Was 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk snubbed in the Pro Bowl voting? Tight end George Kittle and Ward both seemed to think so. Aiyuk was not present during the open locker room session Thursday.
The feeling here is he probably did, considering his yards per catch (18.3), first-down percentage (81.9) and catch percentage (71.3) were better than CeeDee Lamb (Dallas), Mike Evans (Tampa Bay), A.J. Brown (Philadelphia) and Puka Nacua (Rams).
But those four are having terrific years, and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown was left out too and he was also worthy. It was a loaded position, and it’s not as if Aiyuk’s blocking — which is top-shelf — was going to be considered.
It’s not as if the 49ers are going to come back at Aiyuk in contract negotiations for an extension and use the Pro Bowl against him. They know how good he is.
MOODY OVER MCCAFFREY?
With Christian McCaffrey sitting out the last game, he could be overtaken as the 49ers’ scoring leader by place kicker Jake Moody. McCaffrey has 126 points on 21 touchdowns. Moody has 121 points on 21 field goals and 58 extra points.
If I’m Shanahan, I’m not worried about the points leader so much as getting Moody a few attempts at field goals, including one of 50-plus yards.
Moody has missed three of 24 attempts, but none since a 19-17 loss to Cleveland when he pushed a 45-yard game-winning attempt wide right on Oct. 15. He has made his last 10 in succession over a span of 10 games.
Originally published at Jerry McDonald