The San Francisco 49ers have a bit of a quarterback conundrum currently. Brock Purdy, who general manager John Lynch has said is the leader in the clubhouse to be the starter once the regular season rolls around, is dealing with a pretty severe elbow injury. He suffered it during San Francisco’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game and his return to the field was in question.
Knowing he would be sidelined for most of, if not all of, the offseason activities, the 49ers signed Sam Darnold in free agency. They also have Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, still on the roster.
It will be interesting to see how the reps are distributed during these workouts as both are trending toward backup jobs for the 2023 season. Dave Lombardi, who covers the 49ers for The Athletic, provided an update on the Purdy situation.
It is certainly a positive that Purdy will be in the building with the team. One fan on NFL Twitter was very excited to hear the news and cannot wait to see Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft back on the field.
“Love it. This has to been the rehab process is going well. Purdy Mania can’t come back soon enough!” one 49ers fan said.
Some fans didn’t have anywhere near the same level of excitement for Purdy being in the building. As one fan put it, that should be expected of someone on the team.
“Everyone is overreacting. Of course he’s going to be there,” another fan said.
It is not rare for players to skip this kind of offseason program, as they are not mandatory. But, as an injured player, it was somewhat expected that Purdy would be there so that he could continue his rehab. Another fan wasn’t thrilled with the update, expressing a meh reaction.
“It doesn’t say he’s participating though. Nothing to see here.”
Just a few weeks removed from surgery, there is a zero percent chance that Purdy will be participating in anything during this round of workouts. That fan is correct that there isn’t much of an update as his presence is expected.
But, as the starting quarterback, his being there will matter to some degree. While he cannot take part on the field, he can still get some work done and do mental reps, learning the nuances of the playbook. While Purdy played at a high-level last season, he was still a rookie and there is plenty for him to learn.
