49ers' Sam Darnold: Starting regular-season finale

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Wednesday that Darnold will serve as the 49ers' starting quarterback for Sunday's regular-season finale versus the Rams, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.

The 49ers have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 12-4 record, so they will give starting quarterback Brock Purdy a breather before the playoffs. Star running back Christian McCaffrey (calf) has already been ruled out, and it's possible that Darnold won't have Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel or George Kittle at his disposal either against a Rams team that's also in rest mode prior to the postseason and will start Carson Wentz at quarterback.