With Brock Purdy well into his recovery from UCL surgery, optimism is high that the 49ers will have their preferred starting quarterback in Week 1. Further progress in his rehab schedule was recently made. 
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When Purdy was initially cleared to participate in team drills, he was understandably put on a pitch count. Last year’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ took rest days between practices as his throwing arm returned to full strength. That restriction was lifted this past week, as head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated (via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com).
Purdy has long been expected to be available for the start of the season, and being an everyday participant in training camp practices is another sign that he will be in place for Week 1. The 23-year-old has also repeatedly received praise from Shanahan and the rest of the coaching staff for his level of play filling in for both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo late in the 2022 campaign and through the postseason. Purdy’s place at the top of the team’s new quarterback depth chart has not changed.
“He’s been [the starter] since last year ended,” Shanahan confirmed, via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “He was always clearly our starter, but there were so many questions about his injury, how he’d come back from it, that we didn’t even know if he’d be ready for this year, so we had to prepare for everything else… Trey was the guy we gave the keys to last year, so we were definitely excited to have him in a situation [to play], and we also didn’t know if Brock would be back, so we needed someone to come in and at least compete with Trey, and give us a chance, because Trey was hurt last year, and just got cleared before OTAs.”
The latter point helped explain the addition of Sam Darnold to compete for the backup role with Garoppolo no longer in the fold. In a further illustration of Lance’s underwhelming showings since being deemed the starter ahead of last September, Darnold is believed to be in the lead for the QB2 role. The remainder of the preseason will leave plenty of opportunities for the pecking order to change, but a healthy Purdy will of course alleviate many concerns at the position ahead of a campaign in which San Francisco again has substantial expectations.
Purdy is among the 49ers starters who will take part in tonight’s game against the Broncos, as noted (on Twitter) by ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. That will mark his first live action since the NFC title game, and another step toward his full-time debut as the team’s undisputed starter under center.