SANTA CLARA — Call on the cavalry? Please.

The 49ers’ receiver situation might look more like an emergency room than a football team, but Brock Purdy seems to have all the necessary tools for the job at hand.

As long as Purdy has Mike Evans, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey available, he’s not going anywhere from his spot as a frontrunner for MVP.

Purdy proved against the Seahawks that even if five of his top six receivers are out, he can still effectively lead his team, especially when it counts the most.

When Deebo Samuel left the game, Purdy still managed to navigate through the league’s top-ranked pass defense and secure a crucial touchdown in the fourth quarter. With news that Samuel’s hamstring issue is serious, the 49ers appear ready to move forward with the players they already have.

Is general manager John Lynch out of touch? Quite the opposite.

He’s not even going to need to make any calls for reinforcements.

Thanks to the groundwork he laid over the summer, the 49ers were hoping Christian Kirk would be ready for Week 1, but injuries to De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson in the first two weeks changed things a bit.

Nonetheless, the 49ers have managed to hold strong.

Despite having 16 players on injured reserve, none of them have led to a loss, and they currently sit at 5-0 with wins against the other top teams in their division.

They have an extra day of rest before they take on the 1-3-1 Commanders on Monday night.

Following that, they have just one more game in the upcoming 20 days.

Christian Kirk at practice

While it seems unlikely that Kirk will be ready to help this week against the Commanders, he did practice on Thursday for the first time since early training camp. If he’s not back for next week’s game in Atlanta, he’s pretty much guaranteed to play after the bye week.

It’s been four years since Kirk enjoyed a healthy season, but he demonstrated his ability with 1,108 yards on 84 catches with the Jaguars in 2022. That’s quite a potential midseason pickup, but even if he mirrors last year’s performance of 28 catches for 239 yards in 13 games with the Texans, it seems clear the 49ers brought him in for a reason.

Kirk’s calf injury during the very first practice set the tone for the challenges that followed at that position. After some setbacks that delayed his recovery, he mentioned recently that he finally feels like himself again.

This sense of recovery may soon be shared by his teammates as well.

Robinson is dealing with a high-ankle sprain from Week 2, which generally takes three to six weeks to heal—meaning he should be back after the bye as well.

Stribling’s ankle injury is a bit more complicated, but he’s likely not too far behind. It’s reasonable to expect his return by Week 12 when they face Seattle again in Santa Clara.

So, reinforcements are on the way.

And unlike making a trade, which could be tempting, this doesn’t come at a cost.

Importantly, though, Purdy isn’t exactly pleading for help.

He leads the league significantly in passer rating even with the aforementioned absentees. When targeting Evans, Kittle, or McCaffrey, Purdy boasts a 64-of-87 completion rate for 731 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception—resulting in an impressive passer rating of 120.4.

Bringing in Evans has opened up everything for the team. Despite his recent rib injuries, he’s been the only receiver to consistently stay on the field.

So while Lynch and the 49ers will likely be looking for ways to strengthen the team ahead of the November 11 trade deadline, it seems they should prioritize more urgent needs, like bolstering the defensive line.