San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy’s mostly excellent season came crashing down on Sunday when he was hurt on the sixth play of an eventual 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game.
Monday brought more bad news: Purdy suffered a complete UCL tear in his throwing elbow that will require surgery. The best case scenario is that he can avoid Tommy John surgery and that a repair, rather than a reconstruction could put Purdy on track to be ready for training camp next season.
Purdy, the final player taken in last year’s draft pick out of Iowa State, was 7-0 as an NFL regular season starter finishing with 1,341 yards, a 13-4 TD/Int. ratio and a QB rating of 107.3 after taking over for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo (fractured foot) in Week 13.
After backup QB Josh Johnson left the game with a concussion, Purdy returned in the 3rd quarter but mostly handed off, throwing just two short passes.
Trey Lance Likely To Start 2023 Season As QB1
So if you’re keeping score at home, the 49ers lost four QB’s this season to injury: Trey Lance (broken ankle), Garoppolo, Purdy and Johnson. Assuming Lance can practice when the 49ers’ begin offseason workouts, it would appear that he’ll get first crack with the No. 1 offense.
That would give 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan more options for the regular season.
In 2021, San Francisco traded up to select Lance from North Dakota State with the third overall pick. But he remains for the most part an unknown quantity taking just 262 snaps (four starts) in his brief two year career. His season ended in Week 2 with the bad break.
It’s not out of the realm that San Francisco could trade Lance (Tennessee has been rumored as a possibility) sign Tom Brady for his final season with Purdy as Brady’s backup for one year. With the injury news, Purdy’s a longshot but then again, he defied some pretty long odds to make it to this point.
Jimmy G is arguably a Top 25 QB and will likely leave as a free agent.
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