49ers’ Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa In Doubt For Week 12

The 49ers have run into steady injury trouble this season, and arguably their three most important players are in doubt for a Week 12 game against the Packers. Most notably, Brock Purdy has now gone through an MRI on his injured throwing shoulder.

Limited in practice over the past two days, Purdy is iffy for San Francisco’s Green Bay trip. John Lynch said during a KNBR interview (h/t Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News) the situation is “tenuous” and noted Brandon Allen would take the snaps in front of Joshua Dobbs if Purdy were unable to go.

Purdy has not missed a start due to injury since suffering a UCL tear in the 2022 NFC championship game, establishing himself as the 49ers’ full-time starter in that span. Meanwhile, the 49ers have seen neither Nick Bosa nor Trent Williams practice this week. Bosa is dealing with the oblique injury suffered against the Seahawks in Week 11, while Williams has played through an ankle issue.

Sounding alarm bells about the All-Pro left tackle’s situation, Kyle Shanahan said (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch) the painkilling injection Williams received last week has not helped. Considering how the 49ers fared without Williams last season, this becomes a central concern for a team that has fallen to 5-5 and has a Packers-Bills road stretch upcoming.

Williams took the pregame injection and played every offensive snap for the 49ers in Week 12, but the aftermath threatens to keep him out. Williams, 36, has not missed any time this season; his absences last year point to trouble if the 49ers do not have the future Hall of Famer available Sunday. The 49ers lost to the Bengals and Vikings without Williams, starting their second-half push when he and Deebo Samuel returned to action. Williams has been the NFL’s first-team All-Pro left tackle for the past three seasons, riding those accolades to secure a lucrative rework in August.

Bosa sustained hip and oblique damage during San Francisco’s loss to Seattle, significantly hindering the team’s pass rush. The 49ers have relied on the dominant edge defender throughout his career, with the team’s Shanahan-era surge not beginning until it drafted Bosa second overall in 2019. The 49ers’ lone non-playoff season in that span (2020) came when Bosa suffered a torn ACL in Week 2, and the team has played only one game without Bosa since he recovered from knee surgery. While the team added Leonard Floyd in free agency and has activated Yetur Gross-Matos from IR, its pass rush will be compromised if Bosa cannot go.

The 49ers named Allen their backup QB to open the season, despite Dobbs momentum forming earlier in the offseason. It goes without saying a Purdy-to-Allen downgrade would be noticeable, even though the 49ers’ last two QB injuries (those to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo) did not lead to steps back. Allen, 32, signed with the 49ers shortly after the 2023 draft and became their third-stringer once the team traded Lance to the Cowboys. Allen re-signed this year. Unlike 2023 backup Sam Darnold, Allen may well need to start at least one game of consequence.