49ers’ Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa questionable for Week 12

The 49ers have run into constant injury problems this season, and their three most important players are undoubtedly questionable for a Week 12 game against the Packers. Most notably, Brock Purdy has now undergone an MRI on his injured throwing shoulder.

Limited in practice over the last two days, Purdy is unsure about San Francisco’s Green Bay trip. John Lynch said during a KNBR interview (h/t Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News) the situation is “weak” and noted Brandon Allen would take the snaps in front Joshua Dobbs if Purdy was unable to go.

Purdy hasn’t missed a start due to injury since suffering a UCL tear in the 2022 NFC Championship Game, establishing himself as the 49ers’ full-time starter in that span. Meanwhile, the 49ers haven’t seen any of them Nick Bosa neither Trent Williams training this week. Bosa is dealing with the oblique injury suffered against the Seahawks in Week 11, while Williams has been playing through an ankle problem.

Alarm bells are sounding about the All-Pro left tackle’s situation, Kyle Shanahan said (via San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch) the painkiller injection Williams received last week hasn’t helped. Given how the 49ers fared without Williams last season, this becomes a key concern for a team that has fallen to 5-5 and has a Packers-Bills road stretch coming up.

Williams took the pregame injection and played all of the offensive snaps for the 49ers in Week 12, but the aftermath threatens to keep him out. Williams, 36, has not missed any time this season; his absence last year suggests trouble if the 49ers don’t have the future Hall of Famer available Sunday. The 49ers lost to the Bengals and Vikings without Williams and started their second-half push when he and Deebo Samuel returned to action. Williams has been the NFL’s first-team All-Pro left tackle for the past three seasons, and received those accolades to secure a lucrative August redraft.

Bosa suffered hip and oblique injuries during San Francisco’s loss to Seattle, which significantly hindered the team’s pass rush. The 49ers have relied on the dominant edge defender throughout his career, with the team’s rise from the Shanahan era not beginning until it took Bosa second overall in 2019. The 49ers’ lone non-playoff season in that span (2020) came when Bosa suffered a torn ACL in Week 2, and the team has played just one game without Bosa since recovering from knee surgery. While the team added Leonard Floyd in free agency and has activated Yetur Gross-Matos from IR, its pass rush will be compromised if Bosa can’t go.

The 49ers named Allen their backup QB to open the season, despite Dobbs’ momentum building earlier in the offseason. It goes without saying that a Purdy-to-Allen downgrade would be noticeable even though the 49ers’ last two QB injuries (the Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo) did not lead to steps back. Allen, 32, signed with the 49ers shortly after the 2023 draft and became their third-stringer when the team traded Lance to the Cowboys. Allen re-signed this year. Unlike 2023 backup Sam DarnoldAllen may well need to start at least one game with consistency.