One day after the announcement that quarterback Brock Purdy had entered the league's concussion protocol, the sophomore QB was spotted back out on the field during the portion of practice open to the media. He was taking reps alongside fellow signal callers Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen.
Per the team's Week 8 Practice Participation Report, Purdy was a limited participant in Thursday's workout. He still remains in the concussion protocol, however, given his participation in practice, it appears he's making progress through the five-phase process. There have been no further updates from the team as to where exactly Purdy is in the process or his availability for Sunday's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
If Purdy were a skilled position player, he would be wearing a blue non-contact jersey. As a quarterback, Purdy is already wearing a black jersey and is designated a non-contact player for practices.
Scouting Report from Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks
The Cincinnati Bengals won three of their last four contests before heading into their Bye Week, and a couple players the 49ers will have to neutralize to snap their two-game losing streak are quarterback Joe Burrow and his top target, Ja'Marr Chase.
"It starts with the quarterback," Wilks said. "(Burrow and Chase) have a unique relationship, ball placement. Burrow is phenomenal in throwing the back shoulder and gives the receivers the only opportunity sometimes to catch it.
"That chemistry is there. (Chase) is just so dynamic after the catch. It's hard to give him a lot of space... You definitely have to have a lot of zone eyes on him."
Chase has had 70-plus yards in Weeks 3 through 6 and is averaging eight catches and 92 yards per game over the course of the season. Despite Chase being the focal point of the wide receiver corps, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was quick to say his unit will not be overlooking the larger pass catching group.
"I will say this, if you try to overplay him, the two (Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins) are going to hurt you as well," Wilks said. "We talked about that trio."
Burrow was battling an early season leg injury and is expected to return rested and in better shape after a Week 7 Bye for the second half of the season.
"I think think they were productive (in first half of the season), but you can see things on tape, the injury is there," Wilks said. "A lot of things they've been doing are out of the gun. He normally operates things underneath the center. We'll see exactly how it is on Sunday. The guy is very capable of running the offense to the fullest."
