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The San Francisco 49ers are set to roll with Brock Purdy as the starting quarterback in Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals. Mac Jones will shift back into the backup spot as the team tries to rebound from the Week 10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR on November 13 that Purdy will be under center this weekend. The 49ers\u2019 starting quarterback had been out since Week 4 with a turf toe issue. As a result, Jones stepped in and handled the job during that stretch. Now all eyes will be on Purdy to stay healthy and quiet any talk of a quarterback controversy.<\/p>\n
During his radio appearance, Shanahan shared what Jones\u2019 reaction was when he told him that Purdy is fully healthy to return as the starter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it was awesome,\u201d Shanahan said (h\/t 49ers Web Zone). \u201cI mean, I didn\u2019t even have to communicate with him. I think he understood the situation that he went into. He\u2019s understood it the whole time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he had a real good idea that Brock was getting there, was going to be ready this week, so it wasn\u2019t something that I really had to have a big meeting with or anything\u2014but I did before we went out on the practice field. I did call him in just to tell him how much I appreciated how well he played during that time, and to kind of thank him for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
While every NFL player has that competitive edge to push for a starting role, players like Jones understand their role when they sign a contract and what it entails for their position on the team. Obviously, the situation changes as the season goes along, but Purdy didn\u2019t lose his job due to poor play.<\/p>\n
As a result, Jones knew that this decision was looming and harbored no hard feelings.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, man, I enjoyed it, and I\u2019m gonna go have fun on scout team today, and I\u2019ll be ready if I\u2019m ever needed again,’\u201d Shanahan added. \u201cMac\u2019s handled it great since the beginning. Him and Brock have been studs in the room together. They help each other a ton. They enjoy each other. And I\u2019m really pumped to have him this year, and I\u2019m really pumped that we have him next year also.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these guys are super competitive, so everybody wants to start. But it really helps when guys have a lot of respect for the guy in front of them. That\u2019s usually when the backups have been patient and have handled it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, with Jones showing he\u2019s capable of leading the 49ers, it will be up to Purdy to hit the ground running upon his return.<\/p>\n
With national outlets weighing in on the situation, FOX Sports analyst Colin Cowherd was the latest voice to chime in on the quarterback debate in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said this before: You don\u2019t want to justify things in pro sports,\u201d Cowherd said on the November 13 edition of \u201cThe Herd.\u201d \u201cYou don\u2019t want to justify draft picks or decisions, just focus on who\u2019s hot and who\u2019s healthy. For the Niners, the hot quarterback is Mac Jones. The healthy quarterback is Mac Jones. I would be in no rush to bring back Brock Purdy\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201c[Jones is] completing 70 percent of his throws, averaging 270 passing yards\u2014second in the league without Ricky Pearsall or Brandon Aiyuk. He has three 300-yard games, bound for first in the league, and his passer rating is solid: 97.5. That\u2019s good\u2014a starter in the NFL, a B-plus quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0provided a rare update on Shedeur Sanders ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n
Cleveland has\u00a0remained relatively quiet about its high-profile backup quarterback\u00a0in recent weeks, but head coach Kevin Stefanski offered praise on Friday, highlighting Sanders\u2019 growth both on the field and in the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing a really nice job. Including just now coming off the field with the red zone drill we did,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said on Friday. \u201cContinues to work really hard. Doing a nice job in meetings. Doing a good job on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stefanski noted that nothing has changed with Sanders\u2019 workload in practice. He\u2019s still\u00a0not taking reps with the first-team offense. That marks a shift from earlier in the year, when Dillon Gabriel saw occasional first-team work while backing up then-starter Joe Flacco.<\/p>\n
With limited reps to go around, Sanders has been\u00a0working after practice to get more. It\u2019s not typical, but the Browns have tweaked how they do things this season with so many rookies in the mix, per Stefanski.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing back to the spring, we\u2019ve done a lot of things we haven\u2019t done before because we have so many rookies. You\u2019re trying to maximize every minute you have out there,\u201d Stefanski said. \u201cCertainly, throughout this season, we\u2019ve tried to be extremely intentional in the development of our players.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not just assuming they\u2019re getting better by just sitting in meetings. You want to give them physical reps as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, Stefanski has downplayed the idea of Sanders replacing Gabriel as the starter and being in the mix to see action on the field anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to speculate,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said Monday\u00a0about a possible timeline for Sanders to see the field. \u201cWe\u2019re committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committed to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, our young players are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they\u2019re getting better on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
An interesting wrinkle for the Browns is the return of Deshaun Watson, which appears to be nearing. Watson has been\u00a0sidelined for more than a year\u00a0while recovering from a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeshaun Watson continues to make excellent progress in his comeback from a re-ruptured Achilles, but the Browns aren\u2019t opening his 21-day practice window this week,\u201d\u00a0Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot said this week. \u201cThe Browns will wait at least until least Week 12 against the\u00a0Raiders\u00a0to designate Watson for return from reserve\/Physically Unable to Perform. They expect to have more clarity on his timeframe over the next couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Watson does return, it\u2019s unclear where he\u2019d fit in on the depth chart. He remains under contract through 2026 on his fully guaranteed $230 million deal, but the Browns appear focused on their long-term future. That includes giving extended evaluations to both Gabriel and Sanders to see what they can offer moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The San Francisco 49ers are set to roll with Brock Purdy as the starting quarterback in Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals. Mac Jones will shift back into the backup spot as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t