After considering options, Brock Purdy is likely to undergo surgery to repair his injured elbow soon. The 49ers quarterback is expected to go under the knife in two weeks.
Purdy will meet with a Dallas-based doctor on Feb. 21, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who notes (via Twitter) the rookie sensation is on track to undergo UCL surgery on Feb. 22. It does not appear Tommy John surgery is on tap. Purdy is expected to make a full recovery in advance of training camp, Rapoport adds.
This stands to mean the previously rumored internal brace surgery will be the seventh-round pick’s course of action. If that is the case, Purdy could be ready to throw in a few months. A Tommy John procedure would knock him out for much longer, though it would not sideline Purdy as long as it does MLB pitchers.
Purdy’s UCL tear harpooned the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes early in the NFC championship game, and his upcoming absence will cloud the team’s 2023 QB situation. Trey Lance, however, expects to be 100% by OTAs in April. The former No. 3 overall pick would be in position to accumulate valuable reps while Purdy recovers, but if last year’s No. 262 overall selection is healthy, the 49ers are not believed to view this as a quarterback controversy-in-waiting. Purdy is expected to be the team’s 2023 starter.
Then again, Jimmy Garoppolo‘s 2022 shows the trouble with early predictions. Garoppolo went from the 49ers’ unquestioned starter to a player they openly tried to trade to Lance insurance to another QB1 run. Another 49ers-Garoppolo deal became a possibility, but the veteran’s broken foot — leading to Purdy’s rapid emergence — scuttled it. Kyle Shanahan said he does not expect the team to revisit another Garoppolo deal. That will leave Purdy and Lance for 2023. If Lance — San Francisco’s Week 1 starter this past season — loses the job to a former lowly regarded prospect, trade rumors will certainly come up.
More to come.