It appears San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has reached another step in his recovery after elbow surgery. General manager John Lynch revealed on Tuesday, the day for veterans to report to the team’s training camp, that Purdy is cleared to throw without restrictions. However, the 49ers will stick to a detailed schedule for when Purdy throws in the lead-up to Week 1.
“Brock is cleared and ready to go,” Lynch said. “He’s been cleared, and he’ll be without restrictions. Now having said that, we’re sticking and adhering to plan that’s been put in place for some time. He got after it the last couple days — we upped his pitch count — so it was kind of the peak of the build-up. He’ll take off Day 1, but we believe in that plan. He’s cleared without restriction, but there will be time off to manage his pitch count and stick to the plan. The great news is Brock has worked his tail off, and he’s ready to go.”
“He looks like Brock,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday when asked how Purdy’s throws looked. “Watching him go through all the steps to be able to watch him throw every day, he always looked like he would be ready [for training camp] because you didn’t see setbacks. … To get back and talk to him last week and hear how he felt mentally and to be able to see physically, he’s ready to go. So, we’re pumped.”
Lynch wouldn’t categorize Purdy as “ahead of schedule,” but he did say Purdy has continued to “hit his markers” on his recovery timeline.
“He’s hit his markers to the point where [doctors] felt comfortable,” Lynch said. “A lot of that is a testament to Brock and his work ethic. It’s all good news.”
Purdy had his first throwing session in the last week of May. Mr. Irrelevant underwent surgery in March to repair his UCL with an internal brace after injuring his elbow during the NFC Championship game and had not thrown since the procedure. In early May, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Purdy is ahead of schedule following the surgery.
After Purdy’s first throwing session in late May, Lynch gave an update on the session, saying they are happy with how it went and see it as a positive for things to come. Lynch said the progress is a testament to Purdy’s work ethic.
“He’s just had one session thus far, but we’re incredibly encouraged by that,” Lynch said, via NFL.com. “He’s hitting all his markers and it doesn’t surprise us, because he’s putting in the work. As for best-case scenario, we’re just gonna kind of take it as it comes, The hope is he’s ready for training camp. The hope is he’s ready for the regular season.”
Whether the 23-year-old will be able to start when the regular season kicks off is still unknown, but Shanahan also remains optimistic.
“We’re hoping for Week 1” as far as a return is concerned, Shanahan said in May. He added they “don’t have any reason to think otherwise.”
Purdy is also hopeful about being ready by the regular-season opener and is taking things one day at a time, as he said during OTAs.
“I feel good,” said Purdy, via NBC Sports, in May. “My arm is feeling good. That’s the goal, you want to be ready for the season.”
The 49ers’ first game in the upcoming 2023 season is in Pittsburgh against the Steelers on Sept. 10.
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Author: Shanna McCarriston
July 25, 2023 | 3:23 pm
