49ers to start Jones at QB in place of ailing Purdy

"SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Barring a significant last-minute change, the San Francisco 49ers will start Mac Jones at quarterback for a second consecutive week Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Starter Brock Purdy is listed as questionable for Sunday as he works his way back from the toe injury that kept him out last week against the New Orleans Saints. And though Purdy was a limited participant in practice all three days this week and made what coach Kyle Shanahan called "a lot of progress" in his recovery, Shanahan wasn't keen on Purdy's chances of starting against Arizona."

""I think it's highly unlikely that he will start," Shanahan said Friday. "We're just trying to see where he's at to see if he can be a 2 or an emergency 3." Shanahan said whether Purdy is in uniform as a backup to Jones will depend on how he feels over the next 48 hours. The Niners will see how Purdy is doing on Saturday and then must make some roster decisions on Saturday afternoon to determine whether Purdy can be the primary backup to Jones or whether they'll need to again elevate practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez to be Jones' top backup."

"According to league rules, if the Niners want Purdy to be the emergency No. 3 quarterback, the No. 2 quarterback (in this case Martinez) would have to be promoted to the active roster and could not just be a standard elevation who reverts to the practice squad on Monday."

Mac Jones is slated to start at quarterback for a second consecutive week against the Arizona Cardinals. Brock Purdy is listed as questionable while recovering from a toe injury that kept him out last week versus the New Orleans Saints. Purdy was a limited participant in practice all three days and made "a lot of progress," but coach Kyle Shanahan said Purdy is highly unlikely to start. Whether Purdy dresses as a backup depends on how he feels over the next 48 hours. If Purdy is to be the emergency third quarterback, the team would need to promote Adrian Martinez to the active roster under league rules.

Read at ESPN.com