Joshua

Dobbs

Like Kyle Shanahan, Lynch also wouldn’t commit to Purdy’s Week 12 availability. Instead, he said the situation “is tenuous” while adding that the team will “go forth accordingly” after getting a look at Purdy in Friday’s practice. If Purdy is unable to play, Brandon Allen would be the favorite to start. Lynch said Allen would take the first snaps in practice if Purdy can’t go. Things remain very wait-and-see for Purdy at this time.

Hufanga is now out with an ankle injury, one week after making his 2024 debut following his 2023 ACL reconstruction. The 49ers will fortunately have Williams (illness, toe) protecting Brock Purdy’s blindside though. Deebo Samuel Sr. is active as well. He remains a high-ceiling WR1, though the 49ers could opt to rest him late in the game if they establish a comfortable lead, as expected.

Kittle and Samuel were already ruled out. Though both players, along with Christian McCaffrey, will be missed, all remaining inactive players are backups. Starting defenders, Nick Bosa (rib) and Charvarius Ward (hamstring/knee) are active, as is Talanoa Hufanga (knee), who makes his regular season debut following his 2023 ACL tear.

Besides Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles) landing on injured reserve this week, the Niners go into Week 2 as one of the league’s healthiest teams. Brandon Allen will continue to back up Brock Purdy in Week 2.

The four-year veteran joins his fifth NFL franchise and should immediately become the primary backup behind quarterback Brock Purdy in San Francisco. Another Wonderlic test standout, Dobbs should make any transition at quarterback less involved for the 49ers should Purdy miss any time in 2024. That said, Dobbs displayed issues with ball security with the Vikings and Cardinals last season, something that likely kept him from earning a starting gig with another team this offseason.

Goessling reports that Kevin O’Connell said “All three of those guys are worthy of being involved in that discussion. We’ll make the best decision in the interest of winning games.” Joshua Dobbs was benched in favor of Nick Mullens a couple of weeks ago due to turnovers and ineffectiveness, while Jaren Hall hasn’t gotten another chance since suffering a concussion. It looks like the Vikings are laying out all options as they fight for their playoff lives.

Dobbs has quickly gone from one of the best stories in football to just another guy on a roster. After leading the Vikings to an unprecedented win over the Falcons in Week 9 and logging a Week 10 win over the Saints, Dobbs’ light appears to have gone out. He’s 1-2 in his last three starts and has two touchdowns to five interceptions to show over that span. Rookie Jaren Hall will serve as the backup to Nick Mullens on Saturday as the Vikings look to keep their name in the playoff hunt.

Mullens came in relief of Dobbs in Week 14 after the latter had proved to be ineffective. Dobbs started off completing 10-of-23 passes for 63 yards before being pulled. Mullens who is now healthy, completed 9-of-13 passes for 83 yards and led the Vikings to three points. The Vikings stuck with Dobbs after a four-interception performance in Week 12 against the Bears, but he couldn’t bounce back afterward. The Vikings will make their playoff push with Mullens.

After back-to-back disastrous outings by Joshua Dobbs, it’s hard to imagine O’Connell turning things back over to him without giving Nick Mullens or rookie Jaren Hall a shot. Mullens came on in relief of Dobbs in the fourth quarter and wound up throwing for 83 yards on 9-of-13 passing. The journeyman has bounced around the league since catching on with the 49ers as a UDFA in 2017, spending time with the Eagles, Browns, Raiders, and Vikings. A serviceable quarterback in a pinch, it’s hard to know how reliable Mullens can be for the Vikings, who are in the midst of a playoff push, but Dobbs isn’t instilling much confidence at this point.

Mullens came in for the brutally ineffective Josh Dobbs midway through the fourth quarter and was immediately a massive upgrade for the Minnesota offense. Mullens missed a couple potential big gains but was accurate on intermediate throws, unlike Dobbs. Mullens can fulfill the distributor role Kirk Cousins had in the Vikings offense before his season-ending Achilles injury — a positive development for T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison, and Justin Jefferson, who left this game with a chest injury. Mullens should be picked up in all superflex formats. He’ll be a top-20 option in Week 15 against the Bengals.