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Nick Wagoner, ESPN writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Barring unforeseen circumstances between now and Sunday night’s game, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will return against the Buffalo Bills.
Purdy is officially listed as questionable due to soreness in his right (throwing) shoulder, but he made enough progress this week to play barring a setback, according to coach Kyle Shanahan.
“A lot can happen between now and then,” Shanahan said Friday. “But right now he’s playing. He’s doing well. He had a good day.”
Purdy did not play in the 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers last week due to a shoulder problem. However, earlier this week there were small signs of improvement. He threw light throws on Monday and was limited in practices on Wednesday and Thursday. He participated fully in Friday’s session with substitute Brandon Allen wearing a scout team jersey.
On Friday, Purdy spoke to Bay Area media for the first time since the Nov. 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Purdy said there wasn’t one particular hit or moment that caused the shoulder discomfort, but rather an accumulation of things throughout that game.
Purdy underwent an MRI on Monday after the game, which did not reveal any significant damage, but when he tried to throw in practice last Thursday, he felt something wrong, which led to another MRI.
That second checkup left Purdy with some questions about whether a longer-term injury could be on the cards.
“Any time you go through an injury and things like that you want to know what’s going on with your body and how long something could last or if something is serious or not, if you’re healthy or not,” Purdy said. “All of those things definitely went through my mind. But I’m glad that everything was clear inside the MRI and knowing that we had a plan to prepare for this week, and I’m ready to go now.”
Purdy added that he started to feel completely like himself when he was throwing in practice Thursday.
“With the different things we did in terms of the throwing schedule, I started to feel good,” Purdy said. “Thanksgiving, that’s when I practiced and felt good. And today I felt really good in practice, too.”
While Purdy’s return is a welcome sight for the 49ers, it doesn’t mean he’ll have his entire supporting cast.
The 49ers ruled out left tackle Trent Williams (left ankle), defensive end Nick Bosa (left hip and oblique), cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee), guard Aaron Banks (concussion) and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion). ). The 49ers opened linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s practice window this week in his return from a torn left Achilles tendon, but he will not be activated against the Bills.
This will be the second week in a row that the Niners will be without Bosa and Williams.
“We understand what’s wrong with them, it’s just how you heal,” Shanahan said. “And the guys, especially Trent, haven’t recovered the way we’d hoped. Hopefully they’ll have a better chance next week. But in the end they never practiced again this week, so they weren’t that close.”
Without Williams and Banks, the Niners will once again have a different look on the left side of the line. Jaylon Moore, who replaced Williams last week, will return to the left tackle spot with Ben Bartch and Spencer Burford among the options to replace Banks.
This will be the second straight game Williams will miss due to injury. He was in the Niners locker room Wednesday with a scooter that kept his left foot and ankle elevated.
Lenoir was added to the injury report this week after banging his knees on a Packer in last week’s loss. He did not participate in any of the three practices this week before being ruled out.
However, the Niners will get at least one starter back against the Bills: Charvarius Ward, who hasn’t played since the Oct. 27 win against the Dallas Cowboys because he has been mourning the death of his 1-year-old daughter. Ward participated fully in every practice this week.
“We hope he plays,” Shanahan said. “He had a good week of practice…I’m excited to get him back out there.”
