49ers rest Purdy, Darnold to get start against Rams

SANTA CLARA — Quarterback Brock Purdy will sit out the San Francisco 49ers’ regular-season finale after the team already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the NFL playoffs.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that Sam Darnold will start in place of Purdy on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams with nothing at stake for San Francisco (12-4) in the game.

The Niners clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye when they beat Washington last week and Philadelphia lost to Arizona. San Francisco will play its first playoff game at home in the divisional round on Jan. 20 or 21.

Shanahan said he hasn’t decided how much to use other key starters in Sunday’s game, having only decided on Purdy. Shanahan said Purdy and Darnold will split practice time Wednesday, with Darnold getting the bulk of the work with the first team on Thursday.

“I want our team to treat this week as Brock going down on the first play of the game,” Shanahan said. “That’s why I want both repping. I want Brock to get some work this week.”

Purdy finishes his first full regular season as starter with impressive statistics after coming back from offseason elbow surgery. He set the franchise record for yards passing with 4,280 — two more than Jeff Garcia had for San Francisco in 2000 — and leads the league with a 113 passer rating and 9.6 yards per attempt. Purdy also has thrown 31 TD passes.

Darnold gets his first start of the season for the Niners and an opportunity to show off for potential teams next season.

The No. 3 overall pick of the New York Jets in 2018, Darnold signed a one-year contract as a free agent with San Francisco to try to resurrect his career.