San Francisco 49ers veteran report day kicked off with a significant injury update to second-year quarterback Brock Purdy. The former seventh-round draft pick turned QB1 was given the green light to rejoin the 49ers in time for training camp following an offseason elbow surgery to repair his torn UCL.
"Brock is cleared and ready to go," general manager John Lynch said on Tuesday. "He's been cleared, and he is going to be without restrictions."
Purdy sustained his season-ending injury during the first half of the 49ers NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and underwent a procedure to repair the damage in his arm in early March. Although initially given a rough six-month timeline for recovery by his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, the quarterback is set to return to the field sooner than initially anticipated.
The plan moving forward, according to Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, is to start Purdy on a set amount of reps. He is expected to work in for back-to-back days before taking the third day off.
"He got after it the last couple days. We upped his pitch count, so it was the peak of the build up," Lynch added. "He'll take off Day 1, but we believe in that plan. He's cleared without restriction.
"There will be some time off due to pitch count and sticking to the plan. The great news is Brock has worked his tail off, and he is ready to go."
When Purdy makes his first camp appearance, he is expected to take first-team reps ahead of quarterbacks Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen. On the days Purdy sits out, details surrounding the breakdown of reps are still being flushed out, but the goal is to give Lance and Darnold equal opportunity.
"He (Purdy) will (run with the first-team offense) when he's out there," Shanahan said when asked about the quarterback rotation. "The other guys will do the same thing as OTAs. They'll go with the one's (first-team offense), and then Brock will have practices two and three. Then he will have the next one off."
With Purdy re-entering the mix, Shanahan now has the unique challenge of working with four talented quarterbacks during camp.
"I was always ready that this could happen, so the fact that this did happen (Purdy being cleared) is good," Shanahan said. "Brandon came on and did a really good job in OTAs, so that's what makes it a little bit harder, how to fit in a fourth guy.
"He earned that, so that's what we are going to figure out as a staff, the reps and everything."
