49ers' Brock Purdy: Looks on pace to play Sunday

Purdy is practicing Friday and appears to be on pace to clear the NFL's concussion protocol ahead of Sunday's game against the Bengals, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

Purdy initially appeared in doubt to be available Week 8 after entering the protocol following Monday's loss to the Vikings, but the second-year quarterback has seemingly progressed more quickly than anticipated. After sitting out Wednesday's walk-through session while Sam Darnold took all the first-team reps, Purdy returned to practice Thursday as a limited participant. It's unclear whether Purdy was cleared for contract and thus able to take part in a full practice Friday, but head coach Kyle Shanahan should shed light on the matter when he addresses the media later in the day. Whether he was cleared for contact Friday or not, Purdy will still need an independent neurologist to give him the green light to play before he's removed from the protocol. With that in mind, Purdy still seems likely to head into Sunday with a questionable designation, even though he's seemingly trending toward getting cleared.