After the 49ers beat the Giants 34-24 on Sunday, their head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the turf toe injury that quarterback Brock Purdy is dealing with [is unlikely to](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/49ers-dont-expect-brock-purdys-turf-toe-to-fully-go-away-all-year) entirely go away before the end of the season and that the measured approach to his return to practice work is meant to minimize its impact on his play.
Shanahan’s comments came in response to a question about whether the uncertainty of Purdy’s return has an impact on how Mac Jones prepares from week to week. Jones’ performance against the Giants and the team’s 5-2 record in his starts show that he’s handling the situation as well as possible, but Shanahan said on Monday that Jones’ play is not a a factor in when Purdy will be back on the field.
“They’re [not related](https://www.49erswebzone.com/articles/195939-transcript-shanahan-shares-updates-giants/),” Jones said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “This is Brock’s team and if Brock’s good to go and everything and can play like Brock, there’s no decision to be made. It’s just nice as we go through this with Brock with the uncertainty of the toe, it is cool to have someone playing as good as Mac is. But, they’re not related.”
There’s no reason to doubt Shanahan’s sincerity when it comes to Purdy’s status on the depth chart when he’s 100 percent, but it makes it more difficult to go away from something that’s working if the operating belief is that Purdy’s not going to get back to that point this year. Purdy has only practiced on a limited basis at this point and he likely needs to take the next step on that front before there’s a real question about who will be in the lineup come Sunday.