With the short turnaround in to Sunday's season finale, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan opened up the practice week by naming his starting quarterback versus the Arizona Cardinals.
Joshua Dobbs will lead the 49ers offense in Week 18 with Brandon Allen backing him up now that Brock Purdy (elbow) has been shut down for the final game of the year. Dobbs made his regular season debut for San Francisco on "Monday Night Football" against the Detroit Lions after Purdy suffered an elbow injury late in the fourth quarter. Dobbs played a total of five snaps and connected on three-of-four pass attempts for 35 yards. He also added a seven-yard rushing touchdown.
"He's been great, him and Brandon Allen," Shanahan said. "They've been two good guys to have there. I've kind of looked at both of them as our twos throughout the year. It's kind of a little bit like what I said in preseason, but they both have given us really good looks on scout team. They split all the reps there. They're always ready. They both prepare like they're going to be a starter every week, so they've been great."
While the sample size for Dobbs in 2024 is limited, he was a starting quarterback for two different organizations last season. He split time between the Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings, racking up 12 starts and connecting on 262-of-417 pass attempts for 2,464 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions between the two teams. In those 12 starts, Dobbs also showed his dual-threat abilities, adding 77 carries for 421 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
