San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle will return to practice on Wednesday as limited participants.
Purdy has missed four of the past five games due to a turf toe injury initially sustained in the season-opening road win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7 and aggravated during a Sept. 28 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kittle, 32, has been on injured reserve since hurting his hamstring in the season opener and missed five games for the 49ers (4-2), who host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. With Kittle officially designated to return, he will have 21 days to practice and be activated to the 53-man roster or return to IR and be out for the season.
Purdy, 25, has thrown for 586 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions on 73 passes. His replacement, Mac Jones, has been dealing with knee and oblique issues but still has started four games, going 3-1 and passing for 1,252 yards and six TDs with three picks.
Both were listed as limited for practice on Wednesday, with Shanahan saying, “Brock is more limited than Mac.”
For his career, Purdy has completed 67.4% of his passes for 10,104 yards and 68 touchdowns with 31 interceptions in 42 regular-season games, going 24-14 as a starter. He also has thrown for 1,343 yards, six TDs and one pick in six playoff games (all starts).
San Francisco used the 262nd and last overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to select Purdy in the seventh round. He was in the Pro Bowl the next season.
Kittle caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and had four receptions on four targets for 25 yards before exiting in the first half of the 49ers’ 17-13 win over the Seahawks.
He caught 78 passes for 1,106 yards and eight TDs last season, his eighth campaign with San Francisco since being a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. Kittle has four career 1,000-yard seasons as part of his career totals of 542 receptions for 7,405 yards and 46 TDs in 114 regular-season games (106 starts).
Kittle has another 33 receptions for 455 yards and two TDs in 12 playoff games (all starts). He is a two-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl selection.
He became the highest-paid tight end in NFL history in the offseason when he signed a four-year, $76.4 million extension ($19.1 million average) through 2029.
–Field Level Media
