The predetermined position of the NFL in the short football of the week is that the rates of injury are not different when they play seven days apart than when they play four days apart. This ignores an important reality.
Some players who were injured on a Sunday could be ready to go next Sunday. For Thursday, however, they are not where they need to be physically.
The 49ers field marshal, Brock Purdy, is the last example of that dynamic. He was injured his toe in week 1 against the saints. Two games were lost. He played on Sunday, against the Jaguars. And now he is trying to prepare to face the RAMS on Thursday night.
“Playing could lead to some pain and things, so I expected it, but with a quick change with a Thursday night game and everything is more difficult,” Purdy told journalists on Tuesday. “You don’t have so many days to hit and heal and feel better.”
Would you be ready to play if the game were Tuesday night? “No,” said Purdy, “but I have two days.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan made clear the standard to determine if Purdy will play: “(I) will come to do it, we feel that he could play 100 percent of his ability and believe that he can protect himself with her.”
“If I can play this game, I’m going to play,” Purdy said. “Obviously, I want to do well and recover and everything, but we need to win this game against the Rams.”
If the game were Sunday, Purdy will play. This week, however, it does not have the luxury of the usual break between games. Which means that it could be Mac Jones (whose knee injury has been cured) when the 3-1 49ers face the Rams 3-1.