{"id":228806,"date":"2025-10-16T10:36:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/228806\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T10:36:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T10:36:09","slug":"49ers-injury-updates-on-brock-purdy-george-kittle-ricky-pearsall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/228806\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ injury updates on Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 One player surely can\u2019t flip the 49ers\u2019 morale after Fred Warner\u2019s<\/a> season-ending ankle injury.<\/p>\n

But George Kittle<\/a> is one captain who\u2019s uplifted the 49ers since 2017, and he practiced Wednesday for the first time since what coach Kyle Shanahan called a \u201cbig hamstring pull\u201d in the season-opening win at Seattle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Fred going down, I\u2019m sure he\u2019s going to step up in a big way as a leader, and that\u2019s what we needed him to do,\u201d said Jake Tonges, who\u2019s impressed as Kittle\u2019s replacement. \u201cIt can\u2019t be understated how great it is to have George.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quarterback Brock Purdy, like Kittle, returned in a limited fashion at his first practice in two weeks, having aggravated a Week 1 toe injury in a Sept. 28 loss to Jacksonville<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those are encouraging strides on a team that was understandably crestfallen Sunday, when Warner dislocated and fractured his right ankle, which was surgically repaired Tuesday at Stanford Hospital.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time for the 49ers, more than any other injury this painful season, to switch from a grieving unit to a galvanized force. Their Wednesday morning team meeting did not ignore Warner\u2019s impact. His exit is different, seeing how he ran the show on defense as an All-Pro linebacker and rallied the 49ers\u2019 huddles before every practice and game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a big kumbaya or anything to have everyone share an inspirational deal. We address it and talk about what we have to do to handle it,\u201d said Shanahan, who reinforced the 49ers\u2019 confidence in a youth-laden defense, according to a team source.<\/p>\n

A great way to switch up the somber mood is to insert Kittle, with no guarantee he\u2019ll be cleared to go Sunday night when the 49ers (4-2) host the Atlanta Falcons (3-2).<\/p>\n

Kittle at least filled Warner\u2019s role in hyping up and breaking down Wednesday\u2019s pre-practice huddle.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we know who George is: \u2018The Joker,\u2019 the teammate he is, his personality in the huddle. We all have our favorite handshakes. He brings a lot of fun into the huddle,\u201d said right tackle Colton McKivitz.<\/p>\n

Kittle\u2019s five-game absence is the longest of his career outside of a six-game hiatus (foot fracture) amid the 2020 49ers\u2019 injury-riddled, COVID-disrupted season.<\/p>\n

In his absence, Tonges unexpectedly emerged as a legitimate pass catcher, and his 25 receptions (224 yards) are second only to Christian McCaffrey\u2019s 46, while each has three touchdown catches to lead the team.<\/p>\n

But neither Tonges nor Luke Farrell has made up for Kittle\u2019s impact as a run blocker. The 49ers are averaging a league-worst 3.06 yards per carry, they have failed to run for more than 85 yards in six straight games for the first time in franchise history, and McCaffrey just scored their first rushing touchdown of the season last Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have a guy like that who can run block like he does, who can do things in the pass game and make guys miss to get explosives, it just adds another element of confidence for us that there\u2019s a person out there who can change the game,\u201d McKivitz said of Kittle.<\/p>\n

Added McCaffrey: \u201cHe\u2019s not just so great as a player, but his energy as leadership on the field means a whole lot to this team, so we can\u2019t wait to get him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

QUARTERBACK OUTLOOK<\/p>\n

Both Purdy and fellow quarterback Mac Jones (oblique, knee) were limited in practice, with Purdy observing some early drills but also throwing as part of a rotation in others.<\/p>\n

Purdy played through that toe injury in the season opener, then after deferring to Jones the next two starts, Purdy aggravated that toe amid a three-turnover outing against the Jaguars. Jones has passed for over 340 yards in each of the two games since then, though he was sacked six times and had two passes intercepted in Sunday\u2019s 30-19 loss at Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

PEARSALL, OTHER RECEIVERS<\/p>\n

Wide receivers Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Skyy Moore (ankle) were kept out of practice. Pearsall has missed the past two games. Moore fielded punts at the 2- and 3-yard lines Sunday, of which Shanahan said: \u201cThat\u2019s a no. A big no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jauan Jennings and Jordan Watkins (calf) were limited. Jennings is battling ankle, shoulder and rib injuries, and he revealed Sunday he fractured five ribs two weeks earlier. That disclosure followed Sunday\u2019s in-game drama: one catch on three targets, and one sideline shouting match with Shanahan before halftime.<\/p>\n

WARNER SURGERY<\/p>\n

Shanahan said Warner\u2019s ankle surgery Tuesday went well at Stanford Hospital, two days after he dislocated and fractured his right ankle while getting caught up in Ji\u2019Ayir Brown\u2019s tackle of Raachad White in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

Although Shanahan said Monday that Warner likely would miss at least three months, he clarified Wednesday that they haven\u2019t entertained the thought of a postseason comeback.<\/p>\n

\u201cFred\u2019s been everything to me, a teacher, a brother, a leader, just a friend, too,\u201d Tatum Bethune, Warner\u2019s replacement, said. \u201cThe way he carries himself on and off the field, I just learned a lot from Fred and I\u2019m just rooting for him. He\u2019s in good spirits right now, but you know, our goal is to go out there and make him proud on the field and show him the legacy and the standard that he set for this San Francisco 49er defense is going to be upheld.\u201d<\/p>\n

PRACTICE UPDATES<\/p>\n

Right guard Dominick Puni (knee) was held out of practice for the first time this season. Also out was defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee, hamstring).<\/p>\n

Also limited were cornerback Renardo Green (neck), and defensive tackles Kevin Givens (pectoral, C.J. West (thumb) and Kalia Davis (hand). Defensive end Mykel Williams (thumb) and cornerback Upton Stout (shoulder) were full participants. McCaffrey and left tackle Trent Williams rested per their Wednesday routine.<\/p>\n

With Moore sidelined, Watkins and practice-squad rookie Junior Bergen worked as punt returners.<\/p>\n

Falcons missing practice were defensive linemen Jalon Walker (groin) and Leonard Floyd (illness), offensive tackle Jake Matthew (ankle), safety Billy Bowman (hamstring) and cornerback Clark Philips (triceps, illness).<\/p>\n

PINEIRO ON MOODY<\/p>\n

One of the texts former 49ers kicker Jake Moody received after kicking four field goals for the Chicago Bears Monday night in a 24-22 in over Washington was from his successor on the 49ers: Eddy Pi\u00f1eiro.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sent him a message last night congratulating him, and that\u2019s what he deserves,\u201d Pi\u00f1eiro said. \u201cHe\u2019s a good kicker. He\u2019s going to be kicking in this league for awhile. All kickers know each other. It\u2019s a small community. There\u2019s not many of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kicking in the rain at Washington, Moody connected from 47, 48, 41 and, after a 48-yard miss to open the fourth quarter, he made good from 38 yards as time expired and teammates mobbed him. Moody was promoted from the practice squad as an injury replacement for Cairo Santos.<\/p>\n

Pi\u00f1eiro is 15-for-15 on field goal attempts for the 49ers, the most field goals in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Staff writer Jerry McDonald contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 15, 2025 at 1:56 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2014 One player surely can\u2019t flip the 49ers\u2019 morale after Fred Warner\u2019s season-ending ankle injury. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[127961,127962,3805,1819,2356,3802,10031,10831,3803,2558,349,3804,560,71080,10840,10843,99],"class_list":["post-228806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-49ers-alert","tag-49ers-hq","tag-bay-area","tag-brock-purdy","tag-california","tag-editors-picks","tag-george-kittle","tag-inside-sports","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nfl","tag-pm-report","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-santa-clara","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}