Young San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy underwent elbow surgery on his throwing arm back in March after suffering the injury during their NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Initially, there was some thought that Purdy would have to undergo complete reconstruction of his UCL, better known as Tommy John Surgery. Instead, he opted for an internal brace. Even at that point, there was some question about whether the 2022 seventh-round pick and Mr. Irrelevant would be ready for Week 1.
We can pretty much throw that out the window right now. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (h/t NBC Sports) noted on Thursday that there have not been any setbacks for Purdy. He should be good to go for Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It was back in late April that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan suggested that Purdy could miss some time during the regular season. That came shortly after San Francisco signed Sam Darnold as insurance.
Remember, Purdy was injured in the 49ers’ first drive of the NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia. While he did end up returning, it was only in an emergency situation after backup Josh Johnson was injured. Purdy couldn’t throw the ball, playing a huge role in San Francisco’s 31-7 loss to the Eagles.
Fast forward several months, and it appears that Purdy should be good to go when San Francisco opens its regular season on the road in Pittsburgh. It’s no small thing given how well the former Iowa State star played as a rookie in 2022.
Related: Ranking Brock Purdy and the NFL’s 32 starting QBs
Brock Purdy stats (2022): 67.1% completion, 1,374 yards, 13 TD, 4 INT, 107.3 QB rating
Purdy won each of his first five regular season starts after replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in December. He then went on to help San Francisco to two playoff wins before being injured against Philadelphia.
As legitimate Super Bowl contenders, the San Francisco 49ers need Purdy to be 100% throughout the 2023 season. Darnold is nothing more than a journeyman and a backup at this point in his career.
Meanwhile, former No. 3 pick Trey Lance has thrown all of 102 regular season passes in two years. It’s an open question whether he’ll even beat out Darnold for the QB2 job or be a member of the team once training camp breaks.
At least for now, everything seems good on the Purdy front with 49ers training camp getting going in a couple weeks.