SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers went through another day of preparation for their game against Tampa Bay without either of their top two quarterbacks healthy enough to throw the ball in practice.
Starter Brock Purdy remains sidelined by a toe injury and is expected to miss his fourth game this season on Sunday at Tampa Bay, while backup Mac Jones has been slowed by injuries to his knee and oblique.
Jones hurt his oblique on his final play of last week’s overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams and said he is saving his arm for Sunday’s game. He was listed as limited on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Just getting treatment every day and working,” he said. “We have a good plan in place, and I feel confident and just working through it day by day. That’s all you can do.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR that Jones was unable to throw the ball at practice on Thursday and worked mostly on handoffs. But Shanahan remained hopeful that Jones can be ready by game time.
“Really tried to rest it up,” Shanahan said. “Should be able to go Sunday, but definitely wasn’t good enough to go today. Hopefully that’ll continue to improve.”
Jones has revived his career in his first season in San Francisco after going from a promising first-round starter as a rookie in New England in 2021 to a backup last season in Jacksonville.
Jones is 3-0 as a starter this season and is one of only two quarterbacks — along with Matthew Stafford in 2021 with the Rams — ever to win his first three starts with a franchise while throwing for at least 900 yards and six touchdowns.
Jones has led two game-winning drives in his three starts, leading a late-game comeback against Arizona in Week 3 and the overtime drive for a go-ahead field goal last week against the Rams despite dealing with various injuries.
“When you see a guy go out there and battle and work through the injuries and get hit and stay in the game when it’s not looking good or when we have to come from behind in a two-minute drill, you learn a lot about a guy,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “Mac just keeps proving time and time again that he’s made of the right stuff and he’s built to play quarterback in this league.”
Injury updates
The Niners have several other players battling injuries this week but got some good news with receiver Jauan Jennings (ankle, ribs) and defensive tackle Alfred Collins (knee) returning to practice on a limited basis after sitting out Wednesday.
Receiver Ricky Pearsall remained sidelined with a knee injury and is unlikely to be able to play this week. The other 49ers players who missed practice were defensive end Robert Beal (ankle), defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee, hamstring) and receiver Jordan Watkins (calf).
Defensive tackle Kevin Givens was limited for a second straight day but has a chance to be activated from IR after going down with a pectoral injury in training camp.
Safety Malik Mustapha has no injury designation and is on target to make his season debut after missing the offseason and start of the year while working his way back from offseason knee surgery.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
