49ers plan to play Brock Purdy, other starters in exhibition game against Saints
After canceling joint practices because of a litany of injuries, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan plans to play several of his starters, including quarterback Brock Purdy, in an exhibition game against the New Orleans Saints.
Shanahan normally gives his starters plenty of work in joint practices and sometimes holds them out of the game that week, but said he will play many of his top players on Sunday to give them a chance to work against a different team.
"It's always nice when you get to go up against a different look, different guys and stuff," Purdy said Friday. "So we definitely missed that this week. But at the same time, we're doing it for the right reasons. So I'm excited for Sunday to be able to get some new looks and being able to run our offense against guys that haven't seen it every day. So that's also going to be nice, but get in, be efficient, be clean with it and compete."
The Niners won't play all of their starters. Some are dealing with injuries, others have contract disputes and some could be held out no matter what in order to limit any injury risk.
San Francisco lost another starter this week when left guard Aaron Banks broke his pinky. Banks had surgery Friday, but the Niners are hoping to get him back for the season opener Sept. 9 against the New York Jets.
Shanahan had no firm update on the status of stars Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams, who have not practiced all summer while they seek new contracts. Williams has been holding out of camp and incurring fines of $50,000 a day, while Aiyuk showed up and is attending meetings, but has not practiced.
Aiyuk did some sprints on the side early in practice on Friday and then watched team drills for a third straight day, but is still seeking a resolution that will either result in a lucrative extension from the 49ers or a possible trade to Pittsburgh.
Shanahan said the team hasn't threatened Aiyuk with fines if he doesn't practice, saying the star receiver has reported an injury that is holding him out.
"I'm just saying when you guys call it a hold-in, and I'm not disagreeing with you guys on that, but people say that they're hurt," Shanahan said. "I think B.A. has a sore back right now and it is what it is."
Shanahan said he has not pressured the front office on giving into Aiyuk's demands to get him back on the field, saying the contract is part of a puzzle of putting together a competitive roster for several years.
"If I only understood 40% of the business, I think that would be extremely hard for me," he said of not pressuring the front office. "But I don't think you can be like that as a head coach. You have to know the big picture and it all ties together. So, hell yeah, you want every player in camp and you want every player healthy and you want to be working at everything every single day. But that's not the reality of our league. That's not the reality of our situation."
Shanahan has said he's uncertain how Aiyuk's situation will play out, but remains optimistic that a deal will get done with Williams, who has been the All-Pro left tackle the past three seasons.
"I think we have to work out a contract thing and I think Trent, I haven't spoken to him, but I think we'll be able to work that out," he said.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga has been cleared for the next step in his rehab from a torn ACL last year and will be able to do individual drills next week. If that goes well, Shanahan said he could start practicing the following week.
