49ers’ Brock Purdy avoids injury but Leonard Floyd hurt in preseason finale
LAS VEGAS — Their starting quarterback emerged uninjured despite a few scares, but the San Francisco 49ers weren’t as fortunate Friday when it came to one of their few players with an extensive track record of sacking QBs.
Pass rusher Leonard Floyd, the 49ers’ biggest free-agent signing, exited with a possibly minor knee injury in the first quarter of a 24-24 tie against the Raiders in preseason finale at Allegiant Stadium.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Floyd and pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos “most likely” suffered knee sprains, but they were to undergo MRIs on Saturday to provide confirmation. Shanahan said “we’ll see” when asked if it was likely they would be available for the regular-season opener against the Jets on Sept. 9.
“Obviously when you have a guy like that who you get in the offseason that you’re excited about and then you see him go down, for all of us it’s like, ‘C’mon, man, dang it,’” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “But, obviously, he came back (on the sideline) and the word is good. He’s feeling better. So, hopefully, he’s good to go. But the third preseason game and seeing one of our starters go down like that is always scary.”
Floyd and Gross-Matos, the team’s top backup at the position, suffered their injuries in a span of three snaps late in the first quarter and eventually were ruled out after they were initially questionable to return.
The 49ers didn’t play three All-Pro defensive starters — pass rusher Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner and cornerback Charvarius Ward — but Floyd made his exhibition debut Friday along with other first-stringers such as Collins, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. The 49ers signed Floyd to a two-year, $20 million contract in March in hopes he can provide a missing defensive element: A disruptive edge rusher to pair with Bosa.
No 49ers edge rusher besides Bosa has had more than 8.5 sacks since 2012 and Floyd is one of three NFL players to have at least nine sacks in each of the past four seasons. Floyd had 10.5 sacks with the Bills last season while Bosa was the 49ers’ only edge rusher with more than 3.5 despite their midseason trades for Chase Young and Randy Gregory.
Floyd’s injury provided a reminder of the 49ers’ lack of edge-rusher depth, partly because Drake Jackson was placed on season-ending injured reserve during training camp after offseason knee surgery. After Bosa, Floyd and Gross-Matos, the 49ers’ top edge rusher is Robert Beal, a 2023 fifth-round pick who played 39 defensive snaps as a rookie.
Meanwhile, Purdy exited unscathed despite taking four hits in his three-series performance, which ended with him making a tackle after throwing an interception.
Shanahan said he was rooting for the Raiders to have a pick-six on the play rather than seeing Purdy place himself in harm’s way.
