49ers QB Brock Purdy ruled out; Mac Jones to start vs. Saints

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After preparing all week to be without starting quarterback Brock Purdy for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan made it official Friday, announcing that Purdy will not play in New Orleans and veteran Mac Jones will start in his place.

“[Mac] has been awesome,” Shanahan said. “The same this week as he has been all camp. Our team really believes in him, our team really enjoys him, and he did a hell of a job this week in practice.”

Purdy did not practice this week because of left shoulder and toe injuries that he suffered in last week’s win against the Seahawks. Shanahan has indicated that the toe injury — which is similar to turf toe — is the bigger concern for Purdy and that it could keep Purdy out for multiple weeks. Niners general manager John Lynch told KNBR radio Thursday that Purdy’s injury is considered “week-to-week.”

“Brock is doing well,” Lynch told KNBR. “He’s doing a nice job, doing everything he can to get back out there as soon as possible. … But that’s where we’re at, on a week-to-week deal.”

With Purdy unavailable to practice this week, Jones took all of the reps with the starting offense Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. He will make his first start as a Niner against the Saints after signing a two-year, $7 million deal in March.

Jones, the No. 15 pick of the New England Patriots in the 2021 NFL draft, started seven games for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, throwing for eight touchdowns and eight interceptions and finishing with a career-low QBR of 36.6. After a solid rookie season for the Patriots (56.9 QBR), he had two rough years (QBRs of 38.4 and 37.5), which led to his trade to Jacksonville.

After arriving in San Francisco, Jones viewed backing up Purdy as an opportunity to reset his career in Shanahan’s offense, similar to Sam Darnold in 2023.

“[I’ve] been fortunate to kind of play a lot of different roles, and at the end of the day, your job as a quarterback is to either hand it off or throw it,” Jones said. “That’s how simple I’m going to keep it, and that’s when I play my best and when I have a low pulse and kind of just go out there and go through my reads. Obviously, have that intensity and focus, but really go out there, whether you’re backup or starter, and whether you play the first play or not, you’ve got to be ready to play and have your system that works for you. I’m very confident in that and I put a lot of work into that this offseason.”

According to teammates and coaches, Jones had a strong offseason and training camp before a mild knee sprain in the second preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

“Mac’s been really impressive since he walked in the door, just the way he’s kind of been open to the coaching and open to learning what we do here and the way we coach quarterbacks,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “He bought in from Day 1, and you’ve seen the growth.”

With Purdy out this week, the 49ers are planning to elevate practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez to the active roster to be Jones’ backup. Martinez entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2023, spending time with the Detroit Lions and New York Jets over the past two years.

Martinez has not played in an NFL game but was elevated from the Jets’ practice squad to serve as a backup against the Minnesota Vikings last year.

“He has been good these two weeks, learning both these game plans,” Shanahan said. “This week, he got the most reps that he has got, at least with the scout team. We’re working on everything with him after practice, but we’d have to see him in the game. I’m comfortable with him going in and executing. I’ve really liked him here these first two weeks. If it comes to that, we’ll be ready to go, though.”

The 49ers are also dealing with other injuries. Tight end George Kittle landed on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury earlier in the week, and receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder) and left tackle Trent Williams (knee) are questionable after missing practice Wednesday and Thursday before doing some work in Friday’s lighter session.

Williams and Jennings worked on a side field Thursday even though they didn’t practice and seemed to be trending in the right direction.