With their No. 1 seed wrapped up, the 49ers won’t start quarterback Brock Purdy in their season finale against the Rams. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in a press conference told reporters Purdy will sit out the team’s Week 18 game at Levi’s Stadium. Sam Darnold will get the start.
Purdy in two of the team’s last three games had to exit briefly because of a stinger in his non-throwing shoulder. Given that left tackle Trent Williams may also sit out it makes sense that San Francisco wouldn’t want to risk its starting QB behind backup offensive linemen.
Shanahan did note that Purdy is the only player who will for sure rest Sunday.
Darnold has appeared in nine games for the 49ers this year. He’s completed 12-of-20 throws for 108 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. Sunday will mark his first start with San Francisco since signing this offseason.
In 65 games Darnold has 55 starts in his career. He’s completing 59.7 percent of his passes with 62 touchdowns, 56 interceptions and 6.7 yards per attempt.
