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Nick Wagoner, ESPN writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Entering an important matchup with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will be without starting quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive end Nick Bosa.
The Niners officially ruled out Purdy (right shoulder soreness) and Bosa (left hip/oblique) on Friday afternoon, just before the team flew to Wisconsin. Coach Kyle Shanahan announced that veteran Brandon Allen will start in Purdy’s place, with Josh Dobbs available as a backup.
With Purdy and Bosa out and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) again listed as questionable, the 5-5 Niners could be without three of their most important players in a game they desperately need to stay in the postseason hunt.
“We’re definitely missing two good players,” Shanahan said. “But we have a lot of good players out there. There’s no way we don’t have a chance to win. We’re going to fight until the end and hope this is a really good game.”
While Bosa missing a game to recover has been a real possibility over the past two weeks, Purdy’s absence became one in the last 24 hours. Purdy participated on a limited basis in Wednesday’s practice, but Shanahan and the Niners believed his shoulder soreness would continue to improve as the week progressed.
Purdy was then on the field to do some light throwing before Thursday’s practice, but that clearly didn’t go well as he retreated to the weight room for additional treatment. That apparent setback surprised the 49ers.
The writing was on the wall early Friday when Purdy was nowhere to be found during the portion of practice open to the media.
“This is something we didn’t think would happen earlier in the week,” Shanahan said. “We were fully preparing for Brock’s departure and yesterday we were a little surprised.”
According to Shanahan, Purdy underwent an MRI on his shoulder on Monday and it did not show any structural damage that would be cause for concern that he could miss any extended time. But Shanahan also said he wasn’t sure when Purdy will return.
“I don’t want to say there’s long-term concern,” Shanahan said. “We thought he just needed a little rest and we weren’t really worried about [him] not be well this week. But when he started on Thursday, it just surprised him, it surprised us how he felt. So, we had to close it. I really don’t know what to think of it. …But the way he responded this week, it’s really up in the air next week. We’ll have to see on Monday.”
Shanahan added that Purdy couldn’t point to a specific play where he injured his shoulder in last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But Shanahan noticed that Purdy’s shoulder felt tight during the game and led him to spend more time warming up in the game than usual.
With Purdy out, Allen is set to make his 10th regular-season start since entering the league as a sixth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016. Three of those starts came for the Denver Broncos in 2019, and the other six for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 and 2021. He has been with the 49ers since 2023, leading the scout team against the defense for much of that time.
Allen said he didn’t know until Friday that he would start, based on the expectation that Purdy would feel better as the week progressed.
“It’s an opportunity,” Allen said. “The circumstances are what they are, but I think our team, all year, we’ve been dealing with injuries here and there, and it’s been a big ‘next man up’ mentality. So, it’s definitely an opportunity for me to go. “We came out and played well and put our guys in a good position to win the game.”
Shanahan said that despite his injury, Purdy will travel with the team to Green Bay. Bosa, however, will not do so. Bosa has been dealing with injuries to both his hip and obliques, although the left side has been more bothersome this week.
Last week, Bosa played against Seattle despite soreness on his right side, but injured his left side with about nine minutes left in the third quarter. He didn’t return to the game and when it was over he said he felt like he was “compensating” for the injury to his right side when he hurt his left.
Bosa didn’t seem very optimistic Wednesday about his ability to play against the Packers, saying, “Everything gets better every day. We’ll see.”
In addition to Bosa and Purdy, the Niners will also be without cornerback Charvarius Ward for the third straight game. Ward returned to practice this week after being away from the team to mourn the death of his 1-year-old daughter. Ward rejoined the team last weekend, but Shanahan said neither side wanted to rush because Ward hadn’t practiced since before the Oct. 27 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“We’re happy to have him back in the building this week,” Shanahan said. “We don’t want to pressure him in any way to get ready to play. I just wanted to get back on the field…Hopefully he’ll be OK next week.”
As for Williams, he played last week against the Seahawks after not practicing all week. He could do it again this week after sitting out again during three days of practice, although this time the 49ers have a long flight to Green Bay added to the mix.
Shanahan said a decision on Williams won’t be made until “just before kickoff.” Tight end George Kittle, who missed last week with a hamstring injury, has no playing designation and is cleared to return against the Packers.
