Brock Purdy remains hopeful that he will return to the football field in 2023. The San Francisco 49ers remain optimistic that their second-year quarterback will return after suffering a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow on January 29.
Purdy's recovery timeline from his March 10 surgery to repair the injury puts his return sometime in September. Although, that's just an estimate. He could be back a bit sooner … or much later. The 49ers will know more when Purdy resumes throwing in June, ramping up his workload over the following months.
Purdy, now out of the brace he wore on his arm, plans to report to the 49ers on Monday morning for the start of the team's offseason program. While the brace is off, there is still some lingering doubt in the quarterback's mind that he will be available this season.
Jori Epstein of Yahoo! Sports spoke with Purdy on Friday and wrote: "[The brace removal] remains an early step in recovery, Purdy saying Friday he's 'not really sure, honestly' whether he'll play in 2023 as he takes it 'one day at a time.' In recent days, progress has come in the form of increased mobility."
Purdy believes his recovery is progressing well. Fans may see him suit up during the upcoming season if that continues.
"Just to be able to get out of the brace, move around more frequently and stuff like that — I know it sounds small, but that's a big win," Purdy told Epstein via Zoom. "That's how I look at it: Finding little things like that to be positive about and understand you have what it takes to get back to being yourself on the field."
Purdy won't be able to join his teammates on the practice field for most of the offseason. Next month, the team is scheduled to begin organized team activities (OTAs). That leaves last season's Week 1 starter, Trey Lance, and another former No. 3 overall pick, Sam Darnold, to compete to fill in for Purdy once the regular season starts.
"We're all working to get me back as soon as possible but in the right manner," Purdy said. "I've just got to take it one day at a time, get healthy, start throwing again, and things like that. And then just go from there. But it's all going to work out how it needs to."
H/t to Rohan Chakravarthi for the find.