November 13, 2025 • 9 mins
Brock Purdy's Aggressive Practice and Return Outlook
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive. Today, we're walking directly into
what has to be one of the most stressful roster
decisions in the NFL right now. We're talking about the
quarterback situation for the San Francisco forty nine ers. It's this,
you know, high stakes balancing act between immediate, undeniable performance
and a massive long term investment. Who's currently heard So
a main source for this is some really detailed reporting
(00:21):
from ESPN, specifically Nick Wagner's piece from November twelfth. It
gives us the clearest look yet at what coach Kyle
Shanahan is thinking, what he's saying publicly about brock Perty's health,
and of course the whole mac Jones situation. And our
mission today is to really dig into what the priority
is here. Is Shanahan making a decision based purely on
who's ready to play, or is he, you know, just
(00:43):
protecting the hierarchy he already built. What's the real standard
for a compromise star player? Okay, let's unpack this.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
That standard is everything. It's the whole story, because you know,
in a vacuum, you've got mac Jones winning games and
looking extremely capable doing it. But then there's party, the
face to the franchise, the guy they gave that his
stored anchor of a contract to what was it, two
hundred and sixty five million dollars back in May. So
the pressure isn't just to win this weekend's game. It's
(01:11):
to validate the biggest decision that organization has made in years.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, exactly. So let's focus on brock Perty first, the
comeback kid. I guess his return has been complicated by
this recurring issue with his right toe. He reinjured it
in that Week four loss to the Jaguars, but the
sources point out he actually first heard it way back
in Week one against Seattle, and that's what's kept him
out for well frustrating six games now. So we've seen
him be limited in practice on Wednesday for the fourth
(01:37):
week in a row. But the language this time it's
totally different. Shanahan didn't call it maintenance. He called it
aggressive practice. And that shift in wording feels it's critical.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Oh it is. It signals they're done being cautious. They
are all in on the high speed ramp up. Now.
The goal is crystal clear, get pretty back in there
with the number one offense, use all three practices this
week and start him on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
This isn't just a hope anymore. It feels like an
organizational goal, right. And to really get the intensity here,
(02:08):
you have to remember Shanahan's philosophy through this whole thing.
He hasn't even used Purdy as a backup, even on
days he might have been able to dress. The line
is absolute. If Brock Purdy is healthy enough to play,
he starts. If he's not, he's inactive. That tells you everything.
They don't just see him as a starter. He's this starter.
His role can't be diminished.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
And that strong commitment is exactly why this Mac Jones
conversation is so fascinating and probably know pretty frustrating for
Jones himself. I mean, he is filled in so capably.
He's led the Niners to a five and three record
in his eight starts. He hasn't just been a game
manager keeping the ship afloat. He's been putting up some
serious numbers.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Oh serious as an understatement.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
When you look at the stats from the source material,
Jones's performance isn't just competent, it's borderline elite. He's second
in the entire league in passing yards per game two
hundred and sixty eight point nine. He's ninth in completion
percentage at almost seventy percent.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
And then there's the QBR, the total quarterback rating, which
is probably the most telling number right. Jones ranks twelfth
in the league with a QBR of sixty five point one,
And for anyone listening, QBR is on a scale of
zero two one hundred. It measures everything a QB does.
A sixty five point one QBR puts him right there
in the territory of a top tier, really reliable starting quarterback.
(03:25):
He's playing better than half the league's healthy starters right.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Now, and that is the source of all this tension.
Despite this incredible production from Jones, and Shanahan himself called
his performance great. The coach has been completely firm. He says,
the job belongs to Purty this second. He's healthy enough.
This isn't about metrics, it's about organizational faith.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It really raises a huge question about how these teams weigh,
you know, some cost versus immediate opportunity. Shanahan actually said
the decision is not a hard decision.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Which is just wow.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah. The fact that he can just dismiss the debate
so easily, even with Jones playing like a top twelve quarterback,
is in incredibly revealing. It tells you this decision has
nothing to do with mac Jones's performance. It's all about
Brock Purdy's ceiling and the need to justify that enormous contract.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
It's a statement about the internal hierarchy. By saying it
isn't hard, Shanahan is shutting down any possibility of a
quarterback controversy before it can even start. He's reinforcing that
no matter how well the backup plays, the team's identity,
their future, it's all tied to Purdy. If they hesitate now,
they undermine that entire financial commitment they just made.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Exactly they are bedding that an eighty five percent Brock
Purdy has a higher ceiling than a one hundred percent
Mac Jones. But that brings us right to the heart
of the problem here, which the sources really highlight. Purdy's
health is a moving target. That's the quote from Shanahan, and.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
That is such a crucial admission. Shanahan acknowledged that Purdy
is probably not going to be fully healthy again this season.
He's just gonna have to deal with this nagging toe
injury for the rest of the way. So when a
coach says that about your star player, the definition of
healthy enough to play becomes incredibly subjective.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And that's where we have to connect the injury to
what he actually does on the field. Why is a
toe injury so bad for a quarterback? The sources mentioned
Shanahan needs to see him throw with the same velocity
and be able to use his legs well. If a
quarterback can't drive off their back foot, which is exactly
what a bad toe stops you from doing, you lose velocity,
you lose touch on deep balls, and your ability to
(05:24):
pivot and move in the pocket is just shut. So
Shanahan has laid out these very clear functional benchmarks that
perty has to meet because they know he's not one
hundred percent. First, he's got to get through all three
practices this week with no issues. Second, he has to
show he can use his legs scrambling moving like he
usually does. And third, they need to see that velocity,
(05:46):
that old throwing motion come back. They're looking for function,
not a clean bill of health, and it.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Really sounds like they learned a hard lesson from the
last time they tried to bring him back, Shanahan admitted
that Perdy felt a little off before he struggled again.
It's Jacksonville, so that caution is now dictating this very
detailed checklist. They need to see hard evidence that he
can handle it, and Shanahan's aiming high. He said that
when Purdy comes back this time, they expect him to
(06:12):
play like a very high level quarterback.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
But can we just pause on the human element for
a second.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Yeah, please.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
You have Mac Jones delivering top twelve quarterback play winning
games for you, and the organization is actively publicly looking
for the first possible moment to replace him, not because
he's failing, but because he's not the guy with the contract.
It's just a remarkable spot for player to be in.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
It is. His performance isn't even the variable here. Purdy's
health is, and it seems like the final decision really
leans on Purdy himself. Shanahan'll look at practice, sure, but
is also relying on Perdy's own assessment of how he's feeling.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Right.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
The organization is betting its immediate future that their compromised
multimillion dollar asset can hit a baseline because his potential
upside is just too big to ignore.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
You're a essentially accepting the risk of making the injury
worse later in the season for the immediate benefit of
getting their star back in the lineup. They're choosing loyalty
to the investment overriding the hot hand.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Okay, before we close out on the quarterbacks, we should
take a quick look at the other injury updates, because
getting ready for Arizona is about more than just the
guy under center. On offense, receiver Ricky Purcell, who's been
out since Week four with a knee injury. He was
also limited, but Shanahan sounds way more optimistic here. He
expects Purcel to be good to go if he looks
(07:31):
healthy this week, and getting him back would be a
huge help for whoever's.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Throwing the ball m for sure. And then on defense,
we saw a couple of key guys limited linebacker de
Winters with his knees and defensive tackle Alfred Collins with
a hip. Now these might seem minor, but that defense
needs to be at its best to take pressure off
the offense. Any weakness in the front seven and suddenly
the offense feels like it has to.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Do more and Finally, Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams didn't practice,
but those were just veteran rest days, not injury concerns. Still,
it kind of highlights the strategy, doesn't it. They're resting
their most important physical players while aggressively pushing their biggest
financial one party back onto the field.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
It's a real contrast.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
So what does this all mean? The forty nine ers
are signaling loud and clear they are ready to pivot
back to Brock Purdy, and they're doing it regardless of
the fantastic play they've gotten from mac Jones. But the
hurdle is still pretty big. Party has to prove he
can function at a high level even though everyone knows
he's not going to be in one hundred percent for
the rest of the year.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
It's a huge gamble, it is, and that leads right
into the final thought we want to leave you with.
Given that the sources confirm Shanahan is planning for Purdy
to have to deal with this toe injury for the
rest of the way, how much pressure does that put
on the coaches to correctly judge what is enough health
versus chasing the impossible goal of full health. I mean
This decision doesn't just affect the Arizona game, It impacts
(08:55):
the entire season, their playoff run. If Purdy comes back
too soon and struggles or worse, re injures it, they
risk everything. So you have this incredibly valuable but compromised player,
what standard would you set for his return knowing you
have a perfectly good, winning quarterback waiting on the sideline.
It's something to think about when you're watching the game
this weekend.
Welcome to the deep dive. Today, we're walking directly into
what has to be one of the most stressful roster
decisions in the NFL right now. We're talking about the
quarterback situation for the San Francisco forty nine ers. It's this,
you know, high stakes balancing act between immediate, undeniable performance
and a massive long term investment. Who's currently heard So
a main source for this is some really detailed reporting
(00:21):
from ESPN, specifically Nick Wagner's piece from November twelfth. It
gives us the clearest look yet at what coach Kyle
Shanahan is thinking, what he's saying publicly about brock Perty's health,
and of course the whole mac Jones situation. And our
mission today is to really dig into what the priority
is here. Is Shanahan making a decision based purely on
who's ready to play, or is he, you know, just
(00:43):
protecting the hierarchy he already built. What's the real standard
for a compromise star player? Okay, let's unpack this.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
That standard is everything. It's the whole story, because you know,
in a vacuum, you've got mac Jones winning games and
looking extremely capable doing it. But then there's party, the
face to the franchise, the guy they gave that his
stored anchor of a contract to what was it, two
hundred and sixty five million dollars back in May. So
the pressure isn't just to win this weekend's game. It's
(01:11):
to validate the biggest decision that organization has made in years.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, exactly. So let's focus on brock Perty first, the
comeback kid. I guess his return has been complicated by
this recurring issue with his right toe. He reinjured it
in that Week four loss to the Jaguars, but the
sources point out he actually first heard it way back
in Week one against Seattle, and that's what's kept him
out for well frustrating six games now. So we've seen
him be limited in practice on Wednesday for the fourth
(01:37):
week in a row. But the language this time it's
totally different. Shanahan didn't call it maintenance. He called it
aggressive practice. And that shift in wording feels it's critical.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Oh it is. It signals they're done being cautious. They
are all in on the high speed ramp up. Now.
The goal is crystal clear, get pretty back in there
with the number one offense, use all three practices this
week and start him on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
This isn't just a hope anymore. It feels like an
organizational goal, right. And to really get the intensity here,
(02:08):
you have to remember Shanahan's philosophy through this whole thing.
He hasn't even used Purdy as a backup, even on
days he might have been able to dress. The line
is absolute. If Brock Purdy is healthy enough to play,
he starts. If he's not, he's inactive. That tells you everything.
They don't just see him as a starter. He's this starter.
His role can't be diminished.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
And that strong commitment is exactly why this Mac Jones
conversation is so fascinating and probably know pretty frustrating for
Jones himself. I mean, he is filled in so capably.
He's led the Niners to a five and three record
in his eight starts. He hasn't just been a game
manager keeping the ship afloat. He's been putting up some
serious numbers.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Oh serious as an understatement.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
When you look at the stats from the source material,
Jones's performance isn't just competent, it's borderline elite. He's second
in the entire league in passing yards per game two
hundred and sixty eight point nine. He's ninth in completion
percentage at almost seventy percent.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
And then there's the QBR, the total quarterback rating, which
is probably the most telling number right. Jones ranks twelfth
in the league with a QBR of sixty five point one,
And for anyone listening, QBR is on a scale of
zero two one hundred. It measures everything a QB does.
A sixty five point one QBR puts him right there
in the territory of a top tier, really reliable starting quarterback.
(03:25):
He's playing better than half the league's healthy starters right.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Now, and that is the source of all this tension.
Despite this incredible production from Jones, and Shanahan himself called
his performance great. The coach has been completely firm. He says,
the job belongs to Purty this second. He's healthy enough.
This isn't about metrics, it's about organizational faith.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It really raises a huge question about how these teams weigh,
you know, some cost versus immediate opportunity. Shanahan actually said
the decision is not a hard decision.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Which is just wow.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah. The fact that he can just dismiss the debate
so easily, even with Jones playing like a top twelve quarterback,
is in incredibly revealing. It tells you this decision has
nothing to do with mac Jones's performance. It's all about
Brock Purdy's ceiling and the need to justify that enormous contract.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
It's a statement about the internal hierarchy. By saying it
isn't hard, Shanahan is shutting down any possibility of a
quarterback controversy before it can even start. He's reinforcing that
no matter how well the backup plays, the team's identity,
their future, it's all tied to Purdy. If they hesitate now,
they undermine that entire financial commitment they just made.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Exactly they are bedding that an eighty five percent Brock
Purdy has a higher ceiling than a one hundred percent
Mac Jones. But that brings us right to the heart
of the problem here, which the sources really highlight. Purdy's
health is a moving target. That's the quote from Shanahan, and.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
That is such a crucial admission. Shanahan acknowledged that Purdy
is probably not going to be fully healthy again this season.
He's just gonna have to deal with this nagging toe
injury for the rest of the way. So when a
coach says that about your star player, the definition of
healthy enough to play becomes incredibly subjective.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And that's where we have to connect the injury to
what he actually does on the field. Why is a
toe injury so bad for a quarterback? The sources mentioned
Shanahan needs to see him throw with the same velocity
and be able to use his legs well. If a
quarterback can't drive off their back foot, which is exactly
what a bad toe stops you from doing, you lose velocity,
you lose touch on deep balls, and your ability to
(05:24):
pivot and move in the pocket is just shut. So
Shanahan has laid out these very clear functional benchmarks that
perty has to meet because they know he's not one
hundred percent. First, he's got to get through all three
practices this week with no issues. Second, he has to
show he can use his legs scrambling moving like he
usually does. And third, they need to see that velocity,
(05:46):
that old throwing motion come back. They're looking for function,
not a clean bill of health, and it.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Really sounds like they learned a hard lesson from the
last time they tried to bring him back, Shanahan admitted
that Perdy felt a little off before he struggled again.
It's Jacksonville, so that caution is now dictating this very
detailed checklist. They need to see hard evidence that he
can handle it, and Shanahan's aiming high. He said that
when Purdy comes back this time, they expect him to
(06:12):
play like a very high level quarterback.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
But can we just pause on the human element for
a second.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Yeah, please.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
You have Mac Jones delivering top twelve quarterback play winning
games for you, and the organization is actively publicly looking
for the first possible moment to replace him, not because
he's failing, but because he's not the guy with the contract.
It's just a remarkable spot for player to be in.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
It is. His performance isn't even the variable here. Purdy's
health is, and it seems like the final decision really
leans on Purdy himself. Shanahan'll look at practice, sure, but
is also relying on Perdy's own assessment of how he's feeling.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Right.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
The organization is betting its immediate future that their compromised
multimillion dollar asset can hit a baseline because his potential
upside is just too big to ignore.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
You're a essentially accepting the risk of making the injury
worse later in the season for the immediate benefit of
getting their star back in the lineup. They're choosing loyalty
to the investment overriding the hot hand.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Okay, before we close out on the quarterbacks, we should
take a quick look at the other injury updates, because
getting ready for Arizona is about more than just the
guy under center. On offense, receiver Ricky Purcell, who's been
out since Week four with a knee injury. He was
also limited, but Shanahan sounds way more optimistic here. He
expects Purcel to be good to go if he looks
(07:31):
healthy this week, and getting him back would be a
huge help for whoever's.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Throwing the ball m for sure. And then on defense,
we saw a couple of key guys limited linebacker de
Winters with his knees and defensive tackle Alfred Collins with
a hip. Now these might seem minor, but that defense
needs to be at its best to take pressure off
the offense. Any weakness in the front seven and suddenly
the offense feels like it has to.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Do more and Finally, Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams didn't practice,
but those were just veteran rest days, not injury concerns. Still,
it kind of highlights the strategy, doesn't it. They're resting
their most important physical players while aggressively pushing their biggest
financial one party back onto the field.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
It's a real contrast.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
So what does this all mean? The forty nine ers
are signaling loud and clear they are ready to pivot
back to Brock Purdy, and they're doing it regardless of
the fantastic play they've gotten from mac Jones. But the
hurdle is still pretty big. Party has to prove he
can function at a high level even though everyone knows
he's not going to be in one hundred percent for
the rest of the year.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
It's a huge gamble, it is, and that leads right
into the final thought we want to leave you with.
Given that the sources confirm Shanahan is planning for Purdy
to have to deal with this toe injury for the
rest of the way, how much pressure does that put
on the coaches to correctly judge what is enough health
versus chasing the impossible goal of full health. I mean
This decision doesn't just affect the Arizona game, It impacts
(08:55):
the entire season, their playoff run. If Purdy comes back
too soon and struggles or worse, re injures it, they
risk everything. So you have this incredibly valuable but compromised player,
what standard would you set for his return knowing you
have a perfectly good, winning quarterback waiting on the sideline.
It's something to think about when you're watching the game
this weekend.
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