SANTA CLARA – Injuries will sideline a slew of 49ers and Buccaneers when these wounded NFC powers meet Sunday at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium.

Quarterback Mac Jones, however, looks able to gut out another start.

With Brock Purdy ruled out for a fourth game this season, coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday he is “pretty much” banking on Jones playing, adding that Jones is questionable because “you have to put it that way if there’s any doubt at all.”

A day after Jones did not throw in 49ers practice, he was targeting receivers with pinpoint accuracy in red zone drills Friday, a couple of hours before the 49ers’ flight. Jones has battled a knee issue for two months, and he strained an oblique late in last Thursday’s overtime win at the Los Angeles Rams.

Jones exhaustingly played all 86 snaps, but there was at least one moment it appeared the 49ers might have to summon his lone backup, Adrian Martinez, for his NFL debut.

“That was the assumption I had after that moment,” Martinez said. “Then Mac, the warrior he is, he gets up, fists pumps the crowd and comes running to the sideline. That’s my guy. It’s awesome to see him get up like that. And I was ready, and would be ready. That’s my role.”

Martinez was the United Football League’s 2024 MVP, using his dual-threat talents (UFL-best 528 rushing yards, 1,749 passing yards) to lead the Birmingham Stallions to their third straight championship. He went there after being cut from the Detroit Lions training camp as an undrafted rookie.

“I love the UFL and I think it’s a league that’s necessary and a league that gave me an opportunity to bounce back,” Martinez said. “I make a joke when people ask me about it, I call it: ‘Professional JuCo.’ But it really is. There’s bounce-backs, first-round picks, third-round picks, undrafted guys like myself. The UFL gave me an opportunity to play 12 games, show what I can do, and show that I’m an NFL guy.”

Martinez, 25, was born in the Central Valley town of Hanford, attended Clovis West High, then bounced from Nebraska to Kansas State. The Jets and then-coach Robert Saleh brought him onto their 2024 practice squad, and the 49ers signed him to their practice squad this past Aug. 27.

Already Jones’ backup in three games, Martinez could be deployed in a zone-read package, to which he said: “If that opportunity comes up, I’ll definitely be ready to run a few of those.”

Purdy is readying himself for a return, having worked again Friday on a side field as he recovers from a toe injury he aggravated in the Sept. 28 loss to Jacksonville. Another quarterback lurking is rookie Kurtis Rourke, who’s recovering well from January ACL surgery and might begin practicing in the next few weeks, Shanahan said.

OTHER INJURY UPDATES

Like Purdy, Pearsall (right knee) also did individual conditioning Friday and is out a second straight game. Jennings’ ability to practice a second straight day has him questionable for a return, having sustained a Sept. 28 rib injury that kept him out last game.

Also out are wide receiver Jordan Watkins (calf) and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring).

Safety Malik Mustapha is questionable as he could be activated off Injured Reserve on Saturday; defensive tackle Kevin Givens is out and will not come off IR, yet.

Also questionable are cornerback Upton Stout (ankle) and defensive tackles Alfred Collins (knee) and Kalia Davis (hand). Defensive linemen Robert Beal (ankle) and C.J. West (hand) are off the injury-status list.

BUCS INJURY LIST

The Buccaneers may have an MVP candidate in quarterback Baker Mayfield, but they have ruled out two premier wide receivers in Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (fibula), two running backs in Bucky Irving (shoulder, foot) and Josh Williams (concussion), and two cornerbacks in Zyon McCollumn (thumb) and Benjamin Morrison (hamstring).

Coach Todd Bowles told Tampa reporters Friday: “You can never fill a void by Mike and Chris but other guys have things they do well to make this team. We have to make sure we enhance those abilities and call the right plays from that aspect.”

Originally Published: October 10, 2025 at 2:15 PM PDT