As is the case with far too many injured San Francisco 49ers players, it seems like forever ago when quarterback Brock Purdy was on the field playing.
Week 4, to be precise, when the franchise signal-caller aggravated a pre-existing turf-toe injury in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Purdy has been inactive every week since, ceding his starting duties to backup Mac Jones, who has done an admirable job helping the Niners get to a 6-3 record ahead of a vital NFC West showdown against the 6-2 Los Angeles Rams in Week 10.
For weeks, talk from both general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan has more or less remained the same, emphasizing how Purdy is improving but isn't quite there yet. And, ever since Week 4, Purdy has remained as a weekly inactive, while Jones and Adrian Martinez are officially listed as QBs 1 and 2 on the gameday roster.
Yet Shanahan's tone changed on Wednesday ahead of the Rams game, telling reporters, "I think we're definitely being more aggressive with him as we go this week, more aggressive than last week," which suggests Purdy could potentially be active on Sunday.
Additionally, Lynch shared on KNBR 680 on Thursday that Purdy could be active, serving as Jones' backup.
Friday's final injury report from Shanahan certainly left the door open to that possibility.
49ers injury report vs. Rams suggests Brock Purdy will be active
Shanahan declared the following injuries for Week 10:
Out
WR Ricky Pearsall (knee)
DE Mykel Williams (knee)
Questionable
QB Brock Purdy (toe)
DL Alfred Collins (hip)
LB Dee Winters (knee)
LB Tatum Bethune (thigh)
DE Keion White (groin)
DL Kalia Davis (ankle)
OL Ben Bartch (ankle)
While Purdy has either been listed as out or questionable since Week 4, the follow-up to Shanahan's announcement led to the possibility of the quarterback suiting up and being active, and the head coach hinted at such.
Jones will still get the start, yes. But Purdy's possible elevation is an indication the Niners are far more comfortable with the latter's recovery than they were a week prior.
That said, San Francisco remains shorthanded on both sides of the ball, particularly with Pearsall missing yet another week after suffering his own injury way back in Week 4.
Williams, meanwhile, likely gets moved to injured reserve after suffering a torn ACL late in last Sunday's game against the New York Giants, and the 49ers will engineer a roster transaction at that point.
The Niners and Rams kick off on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 4:25 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium.