The 49ers finished Sunday’s game with, in essence, third-string offensive linemen playing left tackle and left guard.
And things might be even worse for next week's game against the Detroit Lions.
But the 49ers’ issues on the offensive line will not change coach Kyle Shanahan’s plan for quarterback Brock Purdy, he said.
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“People deal with that throughout the year on other weeks, too,” Shanahan said Monday on a conference call with Bay Area reporters.
“We’ve got a football team. We’ve got to go out, and we’ve got two games here and we’ve got to see what guys we can put out there and whatever we do, we're going to put a game plan together to, as best as we can to give us a chance to win.”
Purdy is just two games away from being able to negotiate a lucrative, long-term contract with the 49ers.
Draft picks are first eligible to sign new contracts with their teams after three seasons. Purdy figures to become one of the highest-paid players in the NFL in the offseason after playing for a minimum contract since entering the league as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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So is there any thought given to removing Purdy from harm’s way because of the status of the 49ers’ offensive line?
“No, I’m not thinking that way,” Shanahan said.
All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams will sit out the final two games of the 2024 NFL season with an ankle injury. The 11-time Pro Bowl player has not played since Oct. 17 against the Seattle Seahawks.
His replacement, Jaylon Moore, is out for the final two games of the season with a quadriceps strain he sustained on Sunday.
His backup, Spencer Burford, has a calf injury, and the 49ers were not sure about his status for their Week 17 game against the Lions on Monday night.
Left guard Aaron Banks sustained a sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee when running back Patrick Taylor was tackled into him in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers turned to Nick Zakelj at left guard. Ordinarily, Burford would have taken over at guard, but he already was forced into the lineup at left tackle.
The only other offensive lineman the 49ers suited up for Sunday’s game was newly added tackle Austen Pleasants, who has appeared in three NFL games over four seasons with the Carolina Panthers, the Los Angeles Chargers and the 49ers.