Brock Purdy will shed his practice restrictions this week. The San Francisco 49ers cleared their second-year quarterback to practice at the start of training camp. Still, the cautious team ensured Purdy didn't participate in more than two consecutive practices, even if there was a day off between sessions.
This week, the 49ers will hold three practices ahead of Saturday's preseason game against the Denver Broncos.
"Yeah, that's off," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of the practice restrictions via a Monday conference call. "So he'll get to go the three practices in a row this week."
Shanahan and the 49ers have made one thing clear all offseason. A healthy Purdy is the team's Week 1 starter. Early on, there was outside skepticism that the quarterback would be ready. However, he looks to be trending toward that becoming a reality.
Purdy earned the starting job thanks to an impressive rookie 2022 campaign. San Francisco lost quarterback Trey Lance during Week 2 and then Jimmy Garoppolo during Week 13. That's when Purdy stepped in. The 49ers didn't miss a beat. Some would say the team looked even better with Purdy at the helm of the offense.
Purdy guided the 49ers all the way to the NFC Championship Game before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. While that ended the team's Super Bowl hopes, Shanahan had seen enough from the young quarterback to know the Niners could win with him.
"The games Brock played in, he played at as high a level as you could ask for, as consistent a level as you can ask for," Shanahan recently told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. "Hell yeah, you can win with that and be very happy with that. That was [seven full] games, there's a lot that goes into it, and we'll see how it goes. I mean, we played good enough in those games to say we're going with him this year."
Whether or not he plays during the preseason, Purdy will likely be out there with his teammates against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10. Aside from a setback in his recovery, only one thing would prevent him from being the starter for that Week 1 road game.
"He would have to melt in practice to lose it," Shanahan said. "And Brock's too good of a player to melt in practice—and so are the other guys."
Those other guys are Trey Lance, Sam Darnold, and Brandon Allen. The QB2 job behind Purdy is up for grabs. While no one made a strong case for themselves on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders to earn that job, Lance's underwhelming outing didn't help his case. The former No. 3 overall pick was the game's lowest-graded offensive player, per Pro Football Focus. He'll look to have a stronger showing against the Broncos.
Whatever happens with the backup roles, Shanahan and company feel comfortable with Purdy at the top of the depth chart. With a championship roster itching to make some NFL noise, the 49ers hope they've finally found a difference-maker at quarterback.