The 49ers Must Avoid Making this Critical Error Against the Cardinals

The move they must avoid making is starting Brock Purdy. Under no circumstances should the 49ers start him against the Cardinals. It doesn't matter if he's feeling close to 100 percent with his toe injury.

It doesn't matter if he was a limited participant in every practice session this week. The 49ers need to think of the entire season and not risk him after only one week off.

He is a quarterback who utilizes his legs a lot. It is what makes him a good player. Either he will be limited in that facet of his game, or he's going to be at risk of reinjury.

There's also a chance he injures something else. The point is that he is at an increased risk of suffering a new or worsening his current injury, and it's unnecessary to do so.

Mac Jones didn't play like a scrub against the New Orleans Saints. He was solid in his performance, tossing three touchdowns.

The 49ers can run a well-balanced offense with him under center. However, Kyle Shanahan indicated that Jones' performance has nothing to do with it, which I disagree with.

“Mainly just how he's feeling and how he thinks he can go, what he thinks he can do today, what he thinks he could do tomorrow, Friday and Sunday," Shanahan said. "Really doesn't have anything to do with how Mac played, whether it was good or bad. Doesn't really affect that. I just talk about where Brock's at right now.”

If Jones played horribly against the Saints, then by all means start Purdy. But he played exceptionally, which should make the 49ers feel comfortable in starting him again to allow Purdy more time to heal.

The risk in starting Purdy outweighs the reward. Start Jones one more time so that Purdy can return and play with no limitations.

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