San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey could be done for the season after just four games.

As head coach Kyle Shanahan relayed after the game, the star suffered a PCL injury in his knee and it could be season-ending:

Kyle Shanahan on Christian McCaffrey injury
"They’re saying it’s a PCL"

Could be season-ending injury

— Cam Inman (@CamInman) December 2, 2024

During the Niners' matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, McCaffrey went down with what appeared to be a non-contact injury and quickly entered the medical tent. He then went to the locker room and before being ruled out with a knee injury.

Christian McCaffrey (knee) went down with a non-contact injury and is headed to the locker room.

He is questionable to return. pic.twitter.com/rY5Mo7bcNr

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 2, 2024

McCaffrey, last year's Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, missed the first eight games of the 2024 season due to Achilles tendinitis.

He's a versatile superstar at his peak, one of the game's top offensive weapons and a workhorse as well.

That was best evidenced in 2023, when the ex-Stanford star amassed 2,023 total yards and 21 touchdowns and helped the 49ers win the NFC title. Simply put, San Francisco is at its best with him in the backfield.

However, the 49ers received very good production at the position otherwise.

In the eight games without McCaffrey, Jordan Mason excelled with 771 total yards and three touchdowns. He notably rushed for 685 yards on 134 carries (5.1 YPC).

His backup was rookie Isaac Guerendo, who has rushed for 227 yards on 37 carries for 6.1 YPC. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel had also seen some carries as well (23 for 66 yards).

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is expected to play Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Purdy was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday before being a full participant Friday. The Niners listed him as questionable in their injury report. He previously sat out Week 12 with a shoulder injury, marking the first missed game of his NFL career.

The injury occurred during a Week 11 contest against the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 22. Purdy finished out the game but recorded a season-low 5.68 yards per pass attempt in the loss.

Purdy was limited in practice the following week. He ended up leaving a session early and eventually ruled out for Week 12.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said that Purdy had left practice after his shoulder pain "started up."

"So we had to shut him down, and so I really don't know what to think of it," Shanahan said. "The MRI doesn't look like that, so it should be alright, but the way it responded this week, it's really up in the air for next week."

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported two days later that the 49ers had undergone a second MRI on Purdy's shoulder, but that the scan "didn't really show anything else."

With Brandon Allen starting in Purdy's place during Week 12, San Francisco was held to a season-low 10 points and 44 rushing yards in a blowout loss to the Packers.

Purdy's availability going forward will be crucial to the 49ers' hopes of sneaking into the playoffs as a Wild Card.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is expected to return to the field on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills after recovering from a shoulder injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Friday.

"Lots of things can happen between now and then, but right now he's playing," Shanahan said, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

San Francisco's season has been beset by injury. Brandon Aiyuk is done for the year. Christian McCaffrey didn't play until November. George Kittle, Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel, among others, battled knocks at points throughout the season. The list goes on.

Purdy joined that list on Nov. 24, missing a matchup against the Green Bay Packers due to right shoulder soreness. It was a development that surprised the Niners.

"I don't want to say there's long-term concern," Shanahan told reporters at the time. "We thought he just needed some rest, and we really weren't concerned about [him] not being good this week. But when he started up Thursday, it just surprised him, surprised us with how it felt. So we had to shut him down. I really don't know what to think of it."

The 24-year-old quarterback had been one of the steady presences during the team's tough 5-6 season, throwing for 2,613 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing 66 percent of his passes.

While there are still questions about whether Purdy can be a legitimate star or is simply a solid game-manager in a productive offensive scheme, there's little doubt that he's emerged as the team's quarterback of the future.

San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams was seen in the locker room on Wednesday using a scooter as he recovers from knee and heel injuries, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic, who noted that "even walking has been painful" for Willams.

The veteran offensive lineman didn't practice Wednesday and missed Sunday's loss against the Green Bay Packers.

Nick Bosa (oblique), Christian McCaffrey (rest), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion), guard Aaron Banks (concussion), cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) also didn't practice on Wednesday, while quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder), defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin), cornerback Renardo Green (neck), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) and guard Dominick Puni (shoulder) were all limited participants.

The Niners, now 5-6 on the season, have been beset by injury throughout the 2024 campaign. Brandon Aiyuk is most notably out for the year with a torn ACL, while McCaffrey missed the majority of the season recovering from bilateral Achilles tendinitis before returning earlier in November.

Williams, 36, has had something of a bizarre year. It started with a contract holdout that wasn't resolved until early September and cost him training camp and the preseason.

The 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro has largely been healthy this season, though he played through injuries two weeks ago against the Seattle Seahawks and wasn't able to go against the Packers after being unable to practice at all in the week leading up to the contest.

The Niners were also without Purdy, Bosa and cornerback cornerback Charvarius Ward for the contest, and the result was a 38-10 loss.

If Williams is unable to go this week, Jaylon Moore would get a second straight start at left tackle.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner says he has been playing through a fractured bone in his ankle since Week 4.

Warner suffered the injury while playing against the visiting New England Patriots on Sept. 29, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

Since then Warner has made seven straight starts while recording 33 combined tackles and two tackles for loss.

Here is Fred Warner confirming that he did indeed have a bone fracture in his ankle during their Week 4 game against the Patriots. #FTTB | #49ers pic.twitter.com/V3zMk4C0Cg

— Matt Lively (@mattblively) November 27, 2024

Warner left the Week 4 win in the second quarter and did not return to the game. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the victory that Warner had tried to re-enter the game in the third quarter "but didn't feel like he could."

He missed multiple practices heading into a Week 5 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals but returned in time for the game.

Warner told reporters on Wednesday that he has been receiving painkilling injections prior to games in order to continue playing.

"It's something I deal with before every game," Warner said, per David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard. "I get on that table before every game and get shot up every single game just to be able to roll. It's not an excuse. That's the NFL. You're not gonna be healthy... It was a fracture when I sprained it. Anytime you fracture a bone, if you continue to play on it, the bone's not going to be able to heal itself. So you've just got to be able to fight through."

Warner's performance has suffered since the injury. He hasn't recorded a Pro Football Focus grade of more than 72.8 since Week 4, and received his worst mark since 2021 with a 44.7 grade against the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 (h/t USA Today's Kyle Madson.)

The 49ers hold a 5-6 record and have a 16 percent probability of making the playoffs heading into Week 13, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Should San Francisco be eliminated from the postseason, Warner could potentially decide to end the streak of 109 straight starts he has made for the 49ers since entering the NFL in 2018.

The banged-up San Francisco 49ers received some positive news on Wednesday.

Per ESPN's Nick Wagoner, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that quarterback Brock Purdy will return to practice on Wednesday on a limited basis as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss this past Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The 49ers were also missing star defensive end Nick Bosa (oblique) and All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) against the Packers, but both of them will remain sidelined for Wednesday's practice.

San Francisco struggled mightily while missing so many key players, losing to Green Bay 38-10. Quarterback Brandon Allen, who started in Purdy's place, accounted for two of the team's three turnovers, all of which resulted in touchdowns for the Packers.

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported on Wednesday that Purdy "was described by multiple sources as either 'day to day' or 'week to week.'" He reportedly underwent MRIs and "the results were encouraging." After throwing in individual drills on Monday, he took Tuesday off.

At 5-6, the 49ers sit in last place in the NFC West, though only one game separates them from the first-place Seattle Seahawks (6-5). Getting Purdy back would give San Francisco its best chance of making a second straight run to the Super Bowl.

The 49ers will have a tough battle as they try to end their two-game skid, as they will be facing the 9-2 Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football. San Francisco certainly would benefit from getting Purdy back in a prime-time matchup as it tries to avoid falling into a deeper hole.

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly hoping that quarterback Brock Purdy's shoulder injury isn't a long-term issue, but there's still some uncertainty surrounding his recovery timeline.

According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, Purdy "was described by multiple sources as either 'day to day' or 'week to week.'"

Purdy sat out his first game of the year this past Sunday, and the 49ers struggled in his absence, suffering a 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers to fall to 5-6 this season. His injury reportedly caught the team off-guard, as Graziano stated that San Francisco was "surprised that the shoulder bothered him enough Thursday to where he couldn't finish practice."

The 49ers sent Purdy to undergo MRIs, and Graziano noted that "the results were encouraging." He made his way back to the practice field earlier this week, but his status for Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills remains uncertain.

"He threw some Monday and took Tuesday off, and their plan is to assess how he feels Wednesday and plan from there. It's truly unknown whether Purdy will be available Sunday night in Buffalo," Graziano stated.

After lighting up the league with his impressive 2023 season, Purdy struggled to find consistency throughout this year before going down with his injury. In 10 games, he threw for 2,613 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing a career-low 66.0 percent of his passes.

Still, the 24-year-old gives the 49ers the best chance to make their second straight run to the Super Bowl, so they will need him to be healthy if they hope to earn a playoff spot in the competitive NFC.

If Purdy is unable to return against the Bills, the 49ers will continue to roll with backup quarterback Brandon Allen as they try to end their two-game skid.

The San Francisco 49ers have reportedly emerged as a strong candidate to sign free-agent quarterback Daniel Jones.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Niners are a "viable contender" to land Jones, who wants to join a "stable, winning franchise," and is intrigued by Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan's history of success with quarterbacks.

Fowler also noted that ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens have shown interest in Jones.

Originally selected sixth overall by the Giants in the 2019 NFL draft, Jones spent his first six seasons in New York, going 24-44-1 in 69 regular-season starts.

Nicknamed "Danny Dimes," Jones enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, which was his first season under head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

The Duke alum completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while also rushing for 708 yards and seven scores that season.

Most impressively, the G-Men exceeded expectations by going 9-7-1, reaching the playoffs and upsetting the Vikings in the Wild Card Round.

That proved to be the high point of Jones' tenure in New York, though, as a torn ACL limited him to six games in 2023, and in 10 starts this season, he went 2-8, while throwing for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven picks.

Daniel Jones with the POWER. TD @Giants!

📺: #WASvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/CCrHCkROWT

— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024

San Francisco stands out as a potentially perfect landing spot for the 49ers due in large part to the career arc of Sam Darnold and how similar it has been to Jones'.

Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets, but after largely struggling in three seasons with the Jets and a subsequent two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, he signed with the 49ers to serve as Brock Purdy's backup last season.

Although Darnold only made one start and didn't see much action, his work with Shanahan made him appealing enough in free agency that the Vikings signed him to compete for their starting job.

Darnold became the clear starter once 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was lost for the season due to injury during the preseason, and the veteran signal-caller hasn't looked back since then.

The USC product is enjoying a career year, going 9-2 in 11 starts, while completing 67.6 percent of his passing attempts for 2,717 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 picks.

Jones is undoubtedly aware of Darnold's come-up, so it wouldn't be at all surprising if he attempts to follow in his footsteps.

The 49ers have had a surprisingly difficult season due largely to injuries, as they are just 5-6, but they are only one game out of first place in the NFC West.

Purdy missed last week's loss to the Green Bay Packers due to a shoulder injury, which resulted in journeyman backup Brandon Allen getting start.

Jones would be a significant upgrade over Allen as the backup, and given the uncertainty surrounding Purdy's shoulder, it is possible Jones could get some starts down the stretch if he signs with the Niners.

As for the other potential options, Jones would also be an upgrade at backup for the Vikings and Ravens, and both teams are looking like surefire playoff teams with Minnesota at 9-2 and Baltimore at 8-4.

If something were to happen to either Darnold or Lamar Jackson, Jones would find himself in an ideal situation with plenty of weapons, giving him a strong opportunity to succeed in Minnesota or Baltimore.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that quarterback Brock Purdy did some light throwing without any setbacks on Monday, and his progress will be monitored throughout the week as he recovers from a right shoulder injury that kept him out of Sunday's loss against the Green Bay Packers.

"We'll see how it feels on Wednesday..." Shanahan told reporters regarding Purdy's injury and his potential availability against the Buffalo Bills next weekend. "Hopefully it responds better this week than it did last week with the rest."

Kyle Shanahan on Brock Purdy “He did some light throwing today. And it went all good… It’s a good sign the pain hadn’t come back”

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) November 25, 2024

Purdy's inability to play on Sunday came as a surprise to both the quarterback and the team.

"I don't want to say there's long-term concern," Shanahan told reporters last week. "We thought he just needed some rest, and we really weren't concerned about [him] not being good this week. But when he started up Thursday, it just surprised him, surprised us with how it felt. So we had to shut him down. I really don't know what to think of it. ... But the way it responded this week, it's really up in the air next week."

The Niners turned to Brandon Allen against the Packers, and the results weren't pretty—he finished 17-of-29 for 199 yards, a touchdown, an interception, a lost fumble and two sacks taken. The Niners managed just 241 yards of total offense, had three turnovers, only held the ball for 23 minutes and 17 seconds, were 3-for-10 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth.

"To have those three turnovers, and all three led to touchdowns with 21 points," Shanahan told reporters after the game. "You top that with the penalties and stuff, that's how you get embarrassed like that."

Despite the performance, Shanahan said that Allen would start against the Bills if Purdy can't go, and not Josh Dobbs.

Despite San Francisco's rough start to the 2024 season—one beset by injuries—an NFC West title is still very much a possibility. The Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals are atop the division at 6-5, while the Niners and Los Angeles Rams are each 5-6, though San Fran's 1-3 record in divisional games thus far isn't doing them any favors.

Regardless, the Niners clearly need a healthy Purdy to turn this ship around. Facing one of the NFL's top contenders in the Bills, with Allen under center, is likely a recipe for disaster.

One NFL team executive believes the San Francisco 49ers' 5-6 record is partially a product of Kyle Shanahan's coaching.

"It's a combination of injuries and then Kyle Shanahan's late-game management, blowing all those leads earlier in the season," the executive said to The Athletic's Mike Sando. "They look tired, like Manti Te'o was saying before the season. They had a year like this before (in 2020). I want them to do well because I don't want to see them get another stud in the draft after a down year."

With Brandon Allen playing at quarterback for an injured Brock Purdy, the Niners lost decisively, 38-10, to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

For Shanahan and his staff, there's only so much they can do to scheme around the absences of Purdy, offensive tackle Trent Williams, defensive end Nick Bosa and others. But fans are, like the anonymous NFL exec, probably looking back now and lamenting some of San Francisco's earlier defeats.

The 49ers threw away a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. They were up 13 points on the Arizona Cardinals going into the fourth in Week 5 and lost. In Week 11, they let Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks march 80 yards down the field for a game-winning drive in the final minute.

The numbers behind @GenoSmith3's game-winning drive. 📊@NextGenStats | @awscloud pic.twitter.com/GvGvigTE2Z

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) November 22, 2024

Shanahan's success in San Francisco speaks for itself. He has guided the franchise to two Super Bowls and his eight playoff wins trail only George Seifert and Bill Walsh among 49ers coaches.

But the 44-year-old has long faced criticism over his handling of late-game situations. He was the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator when they couldn't protect their 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI. History repeated itself to a slightly lesser degree when the Kansas City Chiefs outscored the Niners 21-0 in the final frame of Super Bowl LIV.

To say Shanahan is on the hot seat would be a stretch. It's hard to envision the 49ers firing him after one bad season when they were in the NFC title game for the three years before that.

But the 2024 campaign might be further exposing the coach's flaws and highlighting other areas that need to be addressed in the offseason in order for the franchise to return to the contender ranks.