SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers know they will be without star tight end George Kittle for a little while as he deals with a hamstring injury, but they also could be minus starting quarterback Brock Purdy this weekend against the New Orleans Saints.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Kittle will sit out “a few weeks” because of the right hamstring injury he suffered in Sunday’s 17-13 win against the Seattle Seahawks.
Though that announcement was expected given Kittle sat out most of the game because of the injury, Shanahan added that Purdy has left shoulder and toe injuries, with the more serious one the toe, the coach estimated.
The ailments are serious enough that the Niners don’t yet know if Purdy will be available Sunday in New Orleans.
“We’ve got to see how it heals and how the week goes on it,” he said.
It’s unclear when or how Purdy hurt the toe, but Shanahan said he suffered the shoulder injury on an incomplete pass to wideout Ricky Pearsall in the first half Sunday. Purdy was slow to get up after taking a hit but made it through the game and led the winning drive in the fourth quarter in which he went 6-of-6 passing for 67 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Jake Tonges to win it.
Purdy finished 26-of-35 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for an 80.4 QBR.
After the game, Purdy spoke to reporters and offered no clues that he was dealing with a serious injury.
While Purdy will be monitored as the week goes on, the Niners will have to make contingency plans in case he can’t play. Mac Jones would get the start in his place after signing with the Niners as a free agent in March. Shanahan said Jones had a strong training camp before a minor knee sprain kept him on the sideline for about a week at the end of the preseason.
“He’s gotten really used to what we do,” Shanahan said. “He had a good week of practice last week picking up really right where he left off. If he has to go this week, he’ll lead the guys, the guys will believe in him, and I know he’ll do his job at a high level.”
Beyond Jones, the only other quarterback is Adrian Martinez, who is on the practice squad. Shanahan said “it’s a possibility” the team could add another quarterback if Purdy is ruled out for Sunday but said much of that will be determined in the next 24 hours and beyond.
“I think it has to do with really how Brock is probably over these next 24 hours [and] throughout the week,” Shanahan said. “That’s stuff we’ll look into.”
The Niners do have at least a little bit of certainty with Kittle in that they know he will sit out some time. Luke Farrell, Tonges and fullback Kyle Juszczyk will help fill the void.
Practice squad tight end Brayden Willis could be an option to be elevated on game days while Kittle is out, with Shanahan saying the Niners “wouldn’t hesitate” to bring him up if needed.
The bigger decision with Kittle is whether to put him on injured reserve, which would require him to sit out at least four games.
“When they tell me a few weeks, it’s always a possibility,” Shanahan said. “In order to do that, it’s got to be a four-week injury, so I don’t think we’ve decided on that yet.”
Elsewhere on the injury front, the Niners are awaiting the results of a CT scan on receiver Jauan Jennings‘ injured left shoulder. Shanahan said an MRI looked “good,” but the team still needed to see more before determining his status. The coach added that there’s a chance Jennings could play this weekend.
Also, left guard Ben Bartch is day-to-day because of a “mild” knee sprain.
Shanahan also said the Niners are considering their possibilities at kicker this week
Jake Moody missed a 27-yard field goal attempt and had a 36-yard try blocked Sunday. Since Week 10 of last season, Moody has made 12 of 23 attempts, leaving his job status in doubt.
“There’s options, just whether it’s stay the status quo, bringing in guys for workouts, practice squad, but we’re going through all that stuff right now,” Shanahan said. “I just finished with the team, and I know the personnel department is going to look into all that stuff and gives us those options.”
