The 2024 NFL season has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for the San Francisco 49ers.
First, Brandon Aiyuk held out of training camp and preseason before finally signing a new deal shortly before Week 1. Then, he suffered a major knee injury that knocked him out for the year.
On top of that, running back Christian McCaffrey missed the 49ers' first eight games with an Achilles issue, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (who could end up on the chopping block) recently got into a sideline scuffle with the special teamers.
Let's also remember that the short-handed Los Angeles Rams upset them back in Week 3.
What else could go wrong?
Well, now, with San Francisco sitting at 5-5 following a brutal loss to the Seattle Seahawks, head coach Kyle Shanahan has revealed that quarterback Brock Purdy is apparently dealing with a sore right shoulder and is considered day to day, via ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Purdy didn't exactly look too great in the Niners' Week 11 defeat against the Seahawks, going 21-for-28 with 159 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
He has been wildly inconsistent on the season as a whole, having totaled 2,613 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight picks while completing 66 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 95.9.
To be fair to Purdy, it's not easy being without your best weapons, and all things considered, he has actually managed fairly well.
But if the 24-year-old is now nursing a shoulder injury, it could spell catastrophe for the Niners the rest of the way.
The 49ers were considered the odds-on favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for the second straight season, and you could see why.
After all, San Francisco was absolutely stacked on both sides of the ball heading into the year, and the Niners clearly looked like the best club in the NFC West.
But right now, the 49ers are locked in a second-place tie with the Rams and the Seahawks. The Arizona Cardinals are in first place at 6-4 (who the heck drew that up?).
Just when it looked like San Francisco was about to get going after two straight wins, it falls to Seattle, and then this Purdy news emerges.
It has been one bear of a year in the Bay.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Rams' Bitter NFC West Rival In Trouble?.