Brock Purdy could return sooner rather than later for the 49ers.
The fourth-year quarterback, who has missed the last seven weeks recovering from a turf toe injury, is listed as questionable for San Francisco's Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday that if Purdy can't go against the 49ers' divisional rivals, he "definitely" will return for their Week 11 game against the Cardinals in his home state of Arizona.
"You got Mac Jones starting this week," Fowler said on "SportsCenter." The 49ers are going to decide before game time whether Brock Purdy will be the No. 2, so he will not start, but I checked with somebody with the team who said that he is getting a lot closer.
"They're hopeful that if it's not this week, it will definitely be next week. That's at least the loose plan right now."
General manager John Lynch, in a weekly radio appearance on KNBR's "Murph & Markus," said it was possible that Purdy could back up Jones as the final step of his recovery before fully resuming his QB1 responsibilities.
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Purdy initially sustained the injury in San Francisco's Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks but aggravated it in the team's Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.