San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

49ers have a Purdy big worry ahead of Bengals game

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 10/26/23

Hot takes coming off back-to-back losses aside, the San Francisco 49ers have a legitimate concern regarding quarterback Brock Purdy ahead of this coming Sunday's home game against the 3-3 Cincinnati Bengals.

As mentioned by reporters such as ESPN's Adam Schefter, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Wednesday that Purdy entered the concussion protocol following Monday's 22-17 defeat at the Minnesota Vikings that dropped the 49ers to 5-2 on the season.

It was unknown as of Wednesday afternoon if Purdy will be cleared in time to play against Cincinnati, but it's worth noting San Francisco enters its bye week after this weekend and, thus, may want to give the 23-year-old extra time to get right for the second half of the season.

Brock Purdy started showing concussion symptom on the plane back from Minneapolis and is now in the league’s concussion protocol.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 25, 2023

Shanahan noted that Purdy barely practiced -- barely even threw the ball -- ahead of last week's game in Seattle and played well. He feels better today than he did yesterday. Team is holding out hope he'll be able to play vs. Bengals.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 25, 2023

Per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, Pro Football Focus data shows that Purdy faced pressure a dozen times at Minnesota's U.S. Bank Stadium. The signal-caller took one sack and three recorded quarterback hits, and he tossed two costly fourth-quarter interceptions in the loss.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio suggested Wednesday that Purdy may have suffered his head injury in the fourth quarter of Monday's game. Both of Purdy's picks occurred following a noteworthy hit delivered by Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks.

Here’s the moment Brock Purdy took a blow to the head. pic.twitter.com/YZU1cWbhbU
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 25, 2023

The 49ers kept offseason acquisition Sam Darnold as Purdy's primary backup and ultimately traded 2021 first-round draft choice Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the ongoing campaign.

Darnold thus far has attempted a single regular-season pass with the 49ers but presumably will start against Cincinnati if Purdy can't go.

Purdy has time to pass through the concussion protocol before Sunday's game but Sam Darnold will take the No. 1 reps in today's practice. Purdy is allowed to get on the field for some of the walk-through portions of practice.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 25, 2023

ESPN stats show that Purdy ended Week 7 ranked second in the NFL among qualified players with a 75.6 adjusted QBR and a 107.2 passer rating on the campaign. He's tied for sixth with 11 touchdowns through the air, and he threw all three of his interceptions this season over the past two games.

Following the Purdy news, OddsChecker listed the 49ers as three-point favorites against the Bengals.

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