After suffering an arm injury during the NFC Championship Game and subsequently undergoing offseason surgery, Brock Purdy is ready to return to the practice field. General manager John Lynch announced today that the quarterback has been cleared to practice without any restrictions (per Tyler Dragon of USA Today). However, Lynch did caution that Purdy will be on a pitch count during training camp.
“Brock is cleared and ready to go. He’s been cleared and gonna be without restrictions,” Lynch said. “Now having said that, we’re sticking and adhering to a plan that’s been put in place for some time. He got after it the last couple days. We upped his pitch count.
“He’ll take off Day 1 but we believe in that plan. He’s cleared without restrictions, but there will be some time off due to pitch count. But the great news is Brock has worked his tail off and he’s ready to go.”
Purdy suffered a complete tear of his UCL, and while he managed to avoid Tommy John surgery, he still faced a lengthy rehab. While the 49ers added some extra insurance at the position in Sam Darnold, the team has also provided optimistic updates about Purdy throughout the offseason.
Last we heard, the quarterback had resumed throwing and was still on track to start in Week 1. Considering he’s set to be a participant for the start of 49ers training camp, we can probably still count on Purdy’s availability heading into the regular season.
The Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 draft had a rookie season for the ages. He went 5-0 as a starter, completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He continued his strong play in the postseason, helping the 49ers win a pair of playoff games while tossing three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Considering his injury and lack of NCAA pedigree, it was uncertain if Purdy would retain his starting role heading into 2023. However, the 49ers have been adamant that the second-year QB is set to lead their depth chart, with Darnold serving as the primary backup. This means former third-overall pick Trey Lance is set to be the third-string quarterback heading into the 2023 campaign. The 23-year-old was limited to only two games last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury, and with Purdy emerging late in the season, several teams reach out to the organization to check on Lance’s availability.
Before Purdy, the last QB to go 5-0 in his first five regular season games as a starter for the 49ers was Garoppolo. For Purdy’s sake, he needs to hope this injury is not the start of a similar injury run to what Garoppolo went through as a 49er.
Ugh thanks for the reminder
We have seen that Brock has a whole different mentality then Jimmy did. Brock is a work horse and as long as he throws it 20-30 yards downfield, he will be fine.
It will be interesting to see which Purdy shows up in games this year…..the undefeated SF QB God, or pretty much what the draft showed he was….the last player drafted……time will tell…..
He has already outperformed where he was drafted by a large margin. Every team including the 49ers missed on him to some degree. But I agree it will be interesting to see if he can continue to produce at such a successful level as the true #1 QB.
I’m curious too. Niners got a handful of primetime games this year again too so the whole football world will be watching him
Just like when he beat Seattle and Dallas in the playoffs.