Tom Brady, whose name is bound to come up once or twice in the coming months in connection with the San Francisco 49ers, voiced his opinion on Brock Purdy's injury and its impact on the NFC Championship Game.
"Injuries play a role in every game," Brady told Jim Gray on the Let's Go! podcast, per Pro Football Talk, "and your margin of error changes quite a bit. Obviously, San Fran had, you know, really no chance to compete yesterday. That was tough just to see that happen, but at the same time, it's the reality of the sport. Philly deserved it. They had an incredible season. They played well on defense. They forced that pass and the injury to Brock [Purdy] there on his wrist or his elbow."
Purdy exited Sunday's game in the first quarter after a hit on the arm by Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick. He returned in the second half, but only because his backup, Josh Johnson, was ruled out with a concussion, and the 49ers didn't have another active quarterback on the roster.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, recovering from the broken foot he suffered on December 4, was inactive. Purdy passed just once after returning to the game. The Eagles went on to win 31-7.
On Monday, it was revealed that Purdy suffered a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing arm and will require surgery. He is facing six months of recovery, assuming everything goes well, and could return for training camp.
"It's truly part of the sport," Brady continued. "It's a contact sport, and that's why it's a demolition derby. And that's why, you know, all these games are somewhat unpredictable. You go to the Super Bowl, Patrick [Mahomes has] had a sprained ankle, Jalen [Hurts has] had a hurt shoulder. Anything can happen in the first quarter of the game, and of course, it's going to affect the outcome. So if you're relegated to handing the ball off down 28 points or whatever it was there in the fourth quarter, there's no chance of coming back at that point."