San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch revealed today that quarterback Brock Purdy is progressing well and will not land on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list or any other injury list. Purdy is medically cleared to practice.
"Brock's cleared and ready to go," Lynch said. "He's been cleared. He's going to be without restrictions."
However, the 49ers won't start him with a full workload, resting the quarterback for the first few days of training camp.
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"Now, having said that, we're sticking, and we're adhering to a plan that's been put in place for some time, and he got after it the last couple of days. We upped his pitch count, so it was kind of the peak of the build-up, and so he'll take off day one, but we believe in that plan.
"So, he's cleared without restriction. There will be some time off due to pitch count and all that, sticking to the plan. But the great news is Brock has worked his tail off, and he's ready to go."
Purdy is attempting to return from a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury he sustained in January in the NFC Championship Game. The quarterback underwent surgery on March 10 to repair the damage and has been recovering since.
Most expect Purdy to return to practicing sometime during the second half of August (at least one insider believes it could be even sooner), just in time to get some work in before the end of training camp. The 49ers have been optimistic that Purdy will be available to start in their Week 1 road matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan noted that Purdy will work with the first-team offense when he practices.
"We're never going to have him go three days in a row," the coach said. "And so, like today, he threw, just with his schedule from the weekend and everything. So today he threw, so tomorrow he won't practice. So the other guys will do the same thing as OTAs. They'll both go with the ones, and then Brock will have practices two and three to go. Then I'll take the next one off. So, keep going that way."
That ramp-up plan will continue until it looks like the quarterback can take on a full workload.
Purdy was last season's NFL rookie sensation, taking over the 49ers' starting quarterback job after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. Purdy helped guide San Francisco to eight consecutive wins before suffering his injury in that NFC title game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
San Francisco drafted Purdy (6-1, 220) out of Iowa State with the last overall pick (No. 262) in 2022. He completed 114 of 170 attempts (67.1 percent) for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions through nine regular-season appearances (five starts) last season, per Pro Football Reference.
Purdy added 569 passing yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games.
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