While Brock Purdy is expected to be the San Francisco 49ers starter in Week 1, he is creating a reason for some concern with his accuracy this summer.
The San Francisco 49ers had a fantastic season in 2022 as they won 13 games and the NFC West title easily. However, it was a very weird year when it came to the quarterback position. Jimmy Garoppolo was removed as the starter in favor of first-round pick Trey Lance. However, he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 which forced Garoppolo to return to leading the offense. But that didn’t last until the end of the season.
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To begin December, “Jimmy G” incurred his own season-ending foot injury, and Brock Purdy was thrust into the starting role after being the final player taken in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, to the surprise of the football world, he actually excelled in the role and helped lead a much improved San Francisco 49ers offense to the NFC Championship game.
Unfortunately, Purdy suffered a serious elbow injury in the NFC title game. He missed all of Spring OTA’s and was handled carefully this summer as he recovered from that injury. And now there is reason to wonder if the elbow may still be having an effect on him, or maybe something else.
Brock Purdy stats (2022): 9 games, 1,374 passing yards, 13 TD, 4 INT, 107.3 rating
On Wednesday, The Athletic 49ers writer David Lombardi reported that the second-year quarterback has thrown a stunning 10 interceptions during his limited time on the field this summer. It has led to a 5.1% interception rate and is reason for San Francisco fans to be a bit worried.
However, Lombardi also offered reason to be positive. “Purdy’s INT rate in training camp working vs the third team last season was even higher: 5.9% (6 picks in 101 attempts).” The reporter has tracked interceptions over the last few years and Purdy’s numbers are actually quite a bit higher than Garoppolo and Lance have been in previous summers.
Nevertheless, those numbers did not affect how he performed on the field late in the season. Yet, one has to wonder if the INTs are from his elbow or if the outstanding San Francisco defense has quickly gotten a read on him. This begs the question, will other NFL defenses do the same with more film now out there on him?