49ers to again start QB Jones; Purdy 'further along'

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- While quarterback Brock Purdy slowly works his way back from injury, the San Francisco 49ers will once again turn to Mac Jones as the starter for Sunday's NFC West showdown against the Los Angeles Rams.

For the second consecutive week, Purdy is officially listed as questionable because of the right big toe injury he initially suffered in Week 1 and aggravated in Week 4. Purdy again was a limited participant in all three days of practice this week but couldn't get to a point where the Niners are ready to plug him back into the starting lineup.

"It will be Mac again starting," coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday. "We haven't decided whether to make (Purdy) active or not, but he's further along this week than last week."

Before last week's game against the New York Giants, Shanahan said there was a chance Purdy could be Jones' backup or even serve as the emergency third signal-caller behind Jones and Adrian Martinez. That didn't happen, and after the game Shanahan said Purdy wasn't all that close to being ready to go.

This week, Purdy ramped up his practice workload, and though he still wasn't a full participant, he did take more reps with the starting offense. Whether Purdy can serve in any form of backup role Sunday will depend on how he feels as the game gets closer.

If Purdy isn't active against the Rams, it will be the eighth game he has missed this season. Jones has gone 5-2 in his place, averaging 261.7 passing yards per game (fourth in the NFL), while throwing 10 touchdowns and five interceptions for a 61.2 QBR.

Jones has played through multiple injuries of his own, including a pair of knee issues that had him on the injury report until the past couple of weeks. His resilience has helped win over the Niners locker room.

"That's a big reason why I play, to be honest, is to get the respect of people I trust and people that I would take an opinion from," Jones said. "I try to show that every day. I have to continue to do that. It's not a one-game thing, so I want to show it for the whole season. That's my goal."

Jones will again be without wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who has been out since Week 4 with an injured right knee. Pearsall did not practice all week and has been ruled out.

Shanahan said Friday that Pearsall has been progressing but has yet to hit all the benchmarks required to return. Like many teams, the Niners used GPS tracking for things like speed and distance to determine if a player is back or close to full strength.

"He hasn't been able to hit his normal speeds that'll allow him to come back," Shanahan said. "Just waiting until he hits those markers."

Elsewhere on the injury report, the 49ers continued to take hits in their already banged-up defensive line room. Early in Thursday's practice, defensive tackles Alfred Collins (hip) and Kalia Davis (ankle) and defensive end Keion White (groin) suffered injuries that limited them. The attrition on the defensive line forced the Niners to slow down the practice and cut out some reps just to get through it.

On Friday, Collins did not participate, while White and Davis were limited again. All three are listed as questionable, with Collins perhaps a step behind the other two because he was unable to practice. That on a defensive line that has lost starting ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams to season-ending ACL injuries and placed Yetur Gross-Matos on injured reserve with a hamstring issue last week.

"It was definitely unfortunate," Shanahan said. "Glad that all those guys still have a chance to play on Sunday so hopefully these next 48 hours go well. But it's never a good feeling when three leave like that."

The 49ers did get some good news on the injury front Friday. Defensive end Bryce Huff and center Jake Brendel have recovered from their hamstring injuries and will play against the Rams.

Guard Ben Bartch, who has been on injured reserve with an ankle ailment, will be activated and available against the Rams as well.