The 49ers will host a playoff game after winning the NFC West, and the hope is to make a deep playoff run for the third time in four years. At the moment, those hopes rest in the hands of Brock Purdy, the third-string quarterback who was thrust into the starting job following major injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.
Coach Kyle Shanahan addressed both Garoppolo and Lance’s rehabs, and both are in different spots heading into the postseason. Garoppolo has yet to start running after suffering a serious foot injury, but “the goal” for him is to return at some point in the playoffs, potentially in time for the NFC championship game or Super Bowl, if San Francisco makes it that far.
“I think he can put a little weight on it,” Shanahan said, via Cam Inman of The Mercury News, “but he’s not out there running and stuff like that, so it’s a little bit away.”
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Lance, meanwhile, will definitely not return this year after undergoing a follow-up surgery on his ankle, but Shanahan is happy with his progress thus far.
“They went and cleaned it up and I think that even made him feel better, so he could move on from that,” Shanahan said. “And he’s feeling great now with his rehab and I know he can’t wait to get to this offseason.”
Despite missing both of their top two quarterbacks, San Francisco is 4–0 since Purdy took over in December, and the rookie has totaled 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions since Garoppolo’s injury.
If the veteran is healthy enough to return this year, his experience will give him the upper hand over the inexperienced Purdy. For now, though, the seventh-rounder has to perform in the biggest time of the year.
