San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a complete UCL tear in his throwing elbow during Sunday’s NFC Championship Game and will require surgery, NFL Network and ESPN reported Monday.
Purdy is expected to miss at least six months, but the 49ers hope he can be ready in time for training camp next summer if he undergoes a repair as opposed to a full reconstruction of the ligament, per the reports.
Purdy underwent an MRI on Monday to assess the full extent of the injury that occurred early in Sunday’s conference title game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Purdy’s right elbow was injured on the 49ers’ sixth play from scrimmage on a blow from Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick. He later had to re-enter the game after backup Josh Johnson sustained a concussion.
Purdy only attempted two short passes after returning. He later told reporters his arm felt “shocks all over from my elbow down to my wrist” and “just pain” when he threw, limiting him to nothing more than 5-yard tosses.
The latest injury in the 49ers’ quarterback room could complicate the team’s plans for the 2023 season. Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, was pressed into action in November after long-term injuries to both Trey Lance (ankle) and Jimmy Garoppolo (foot).
Garoppolo is set to become a free agent in the new league year, but Lance was selected third overall in the 2021 draft as San Francisco’s long-term answer at quarterback. He began the 2022 season as the starter before going down with ankle ligament damage and a fractured fibula early in Week 2.
The Niners did not lose a game that Purdy either finished or started going back to Week 13. They entered Sunday on a 12-game winning streak, including seven starts by Purdy after he replaced Garoppolo early on in a Dec. 4 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Purdy threw for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions in the regular season and went for 332 yards and three TDs in a wild-card win over the Seattle Seahawks. He added 214 yards passing when the Niners edged the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.
After Purdy’s exit Sunday, the Eagles feasted on the journeyman Johnson and won going away 31-7 to advance to Super Bowl LVII to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12 at Glendale, Ariz.
–Field Level Media