By NFL Insight | November 7, 2025

The San Francisco 49ers are winning — but the silence surrounding Brock Purdy’s recovery has become deafening.

For five weeks, the young quarterback who once carried the hopes of the Bay Area has been sidelined by what many called a minor turf toe. Now, it’s anything but minor.

Sources close to the team reveal that Purdy’s injury involves ligament damage — the kind that never truly heals during a grueling NFL season. Every push-off, every step, every throw risks aggravating it again.

This week, Dr. Kenneth Jung, one of the NFL’s top foot and ankle surgeons and a consultant for the Rams, shared a blunt truth about Purdy’s situation — and it’s one that could define the 49ers’ season.

“You can stabilize turf toe,” Jung explained. “But if you don’t let the tissue heal, you’re asking it to fail again. It’s a balance between trust, pain, and risk — and the body always wins that battle.”

Purdy has tried everything: carbon-fiber plates, custom braces, limited reps. But Dr. Jung warned that no device can fully protect a quarterback from the chaos of an NFL pocket.

And yet, while Purdy heals, Mac Jones has stepped in with calm precision — five wins, zero panic, and a reminder that San Francisco’s system is built for survivors.

The question now isn’t just when Purdy will return. It’s whether he should.

Even Hall of Famers like Deion Sanders and Jack Lambert saw their careers shortened by the same injury. The 49ers know this history — and head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t taking chances.

“Week-to-week” has become the new normal. There’s no guarantee fans will see Purdy again this season. And maybe that’s for the best.

Because sometimes, the hardest decision in football isn’t whether to play — it’s whether to heal.