With the loss of Deebo Samuel, Brock Purdy has another box to check

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is officially out and it’s up in the air to the status of running back Christian McCaffrey and offensive tackle Trent Williams. One thing is clear, the 49ers are losing some key cogs and Brock Purdy has a challenge in front of him.

And if you’re following the program, another box to check. I’ve cited all the ridiculous arguments of Brock Purdy and his abilities as a quarterback, but this can give us more evidence on the contrary of what the lazy takes are. Last week’s lazy take of the week was he couldn’t put the team on his back. Well, he did. He got them in scoring range after playing bad, they just couldn’t make the kick.

This week, the “he has all those weapons” comment can get torn up. Without Deebo—and potentially CMC—Purdy has an opportunity to silence the narrative on he’s only good with his weapons.

Yes, the Minnesota Vikings aren’t much of a defense and that will probably be the narrative should we see Brock Purdy go Brock Purdy and annihilate them, but the Cleveland Browns aren’t much of an offense and they were able to drum up a run game.

This presents a great opportunity for the narrative after Monday: What can Brock Purdy be without key weapons? Right now we know for sure it’s not Deebo Samuel, which sucks. The more players sidelined, the greater a chance it is to prove that dumb argument is just that, dumb. Or we’ll get more of those annoying “SEEEEEEEE?” after they’ve said the same thing for 18 weeks.

Let’s see how Minnesota turns out.