San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan insisted Wednesday he is assured backup quarterback Sam Darnold can ship a win if starter Brock Purdy cannot play on this coming Sunday’s dwelling recreation in opposition to the 3-3 Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’ve as a lot confidence in Sam as I may have with somebody that I have not gone into an actual NFL recreation with,” Shanahan defined, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. “He was nice within the offseason, he is been nice right here in these seven weeks thus far and he is all the time able to go. He is nice within the conferences and stuff.”
The 49ers signed Darnold early in free company and presumably leaked way back to the spring that he was trending towards leapfrogging 2021 first-round draft decide Trey Lance on the depth chart. San Francisco then left little doubt in regards to the state of affairs when the membership traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys in late August.
Shanahan confirmed Wednesday that Purdy entered the concussion protocol coming off the crew’s “Monday Night time Soccer” loss on the Minnesota Vikings that dropped the 49ers to 5-2 on the season. The coach added that Purdy technically “does have sufficient time” to clear the protocol by Sunday’s Cincinnati recreation, however historical past suggests the 23-year-old will stay sidelined by way of San Francisco’s Week 9 bye.
Based on Eric Department of the San Francisco Chronicle (h/t MSN), Darnold accomplished 22-of-33 cross makes an attempt for 282 yards with two touchdowns and an interception throughout his first preseason with the 49ers. Darnold so far has thrown a single regular-season cross since Week 1.
“He would not get many reps, as no backups do, however he does nicely on the scout crew,” Shanahan mentioned about Darnold. “He is all the time good within the conferences. We have primarily walkthrough at the moment, so Brock’s allowed to do a few of the walkthrough. We have a few durations that are not, so Sam will get these durations.”
Whereas the unfold for this Sunday’s matchup modified after Shanahan shared the Purdy replace, OddsChecker confirmed late Wednesday afternoon that the 49ers have been listed as 3.5-point favorites in opposition to the Bengals.
