49ers face uncomfortable questions after Brock Purdy reinjures toe

This is troubling.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13). | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers cannot catch a break when it comes to injuries, and it may have become even worse last week. The return of Brock Purdy has been derailed by a setback and he may now miss more time. 

San Francisco 49ers may be without Brock Purdy for even longer

Purdy was injured in Week 1 with turf toe. He missed Weeks 2 and 3, but came back in Week 4, despite the team being 2-0 without him. Whether Purdy came back too early or just so happened to get injured in a similar fashion, it turned into a setback. 

This is going to cause the team to start Mac Jones this week, and potentially into the future as well. The team, fortunately, gets 10 days off after this short week, but that may not be enough time for Purdy to return. Now, the question is how many games does Purdy miss?

There are a lot of what-ifs that come from this news as well. Did Purdy come back too early? If Mac Jones played poorly, but they still won, would he have pushed to come back as soon? Of course, the other question is why the 49ers did not hold him back one more week just in case. They knew that Purdy had a short week against the Rams coming; why not just rest him for that game?

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The 49ers have not been getting the benefit of the doubt when it comes to handling injuries. 

Christian McCaffrey is playing, but is not quite as explosive as a runner this season. Of course, all three of their starting wide receivers are hurt and Nick Bosa is out. Some of this is sheer bad luck. Some of this you have to tie to the 49ers after such a long list of injuries. 

The last question comes down to the contract that Purdy just got. Perhaps Purdy came back too soon because he felt a need to live up to that deal. However, Purdy is now the long-term thought at quarterback. The team has to be cautious and has to be viewing the bigger picture as the most important feature of his career. 

There are also going to be questions about whether or not Purdy can live up to that salary. Injuries are becoming a serious part of his career, and once the team signed him, they are already seeing some of the downfalls of the deal.