Brock Purdy’s Return To Throwing Breeds Quarterback Optimism

It will be a while before the San Francisco 49ers have absolute clarity on whom their starting quarterback will be Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but optimism it will be Brock Purdy is likely to be growing following the most recent updates on his recovery from elbow surgery.

Purdy’s potential availability for the start of the 2023 season has been the dominant storyline of San Francisco’s offseason. The final pick in the 2022 draft enjoyed a fairytale rise after stepping in for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 last year, winning all five of his regular-season starts and two playoff games before tearing an elbow ligament on the first offensive series of the NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Between Weeks 13 and 18, Purdy was fourth in Expected Points Added per play — among quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts in that span — according to rbsdm.com. Had he played enough snaps to qualify, he would have finished the year fifth in ESPN’s QBR. Purdy’s QBR of 65.6 was substantially better than Garoppolo’s 54.3.

That efficiency and the command of the offense he displayed led John Lynch to declare Purdy the “leader in the clubhouse” to be the starting quarterback.

Though his surgery was delayed until March, Purdy avoiding a a complete reconstruction of his torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament fueled hope of him being healthy to return and assume the role of full-time starter in Week 1.

And that prospect appears closer to becoming a reality after head coach Kyle Shanahan, speaking after the second day of OTAs, revealed Purdy is set to start throwing next week.

“We’re hoping for Week One and I feel pretty optimistic about that,” said Shanahan.

“That’s what we’re hoping for, that he’ll be ready to play in Week 1 and usually that doesn’t mean that’s the day he comes back. Usually you have to come before that to make that goal and that’s kind of the goal we’re hoping for and I don’t have any reason to think differently.”

For his part, Purdy was not as willing to say whether he is on track to meet that timeline.

“I feel good, arm is feeling good,” he said. “To say I’m going to be ready by this time or this time, we’re not trying to label any kind of timeline like that. For sure though, that’s a goal. You want to be ready for the season and if that’s the case, great, but we’re just taking it one day at a time and don’t want to say anything that we regret down the road or whatever.”

Purdy is right to avoid definitive statements about his recovery given the Niners’ history of rotten luck with quarterback injuries.

Still, Purdy is seemingly on the right path, former third overall pick Trey Lance is preparing for the season free of the finger injury that hindered his rookie year and his practice work last offseason and Sam Darnold is in tow as an intriguing veteran option.

Those three factors offer plenty of reason to be positive about an inexperienced quarterback room that many regard as cause for nervousness about a team otherwise set up to go deep into the playoffs once more.