After months of not being able to throw due to injury, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had his first throwing session in the last week of May. Purdy underwent surgery in March to repair his UCL with an internal brace after injuring his elbow during the NFC Championship game and had not thrown since the procedure. On Tuesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Purdy is ahead of schedule following the surgery.
When asked about whether Purdy might participate in parts of training camp before getting fully cleared, Shanahan said "we're taking it very slowly."
"It's not like you just jump out and push stuff," the coach said. "You're only supposed to throw on this date, at this percentage, this many yards. And you do a certain [amount] a couple of days later. And if you stay on track, it should heal the right way. And right now, everything is right on track.
"So we don't go any — I don't ask three weeks ahead. You just keep trying to stay on that trajectory."
After Purdy's first throwing session in late May, general manager John Lynch gave an update on the session, saying they are happy with how it went and see it as a positive for things to come. Lynch said the progress is a testament to Purdy's work ethic.
"He's just had one session thus far, but we're incredibly encouraged by that," Lynch said (via NFL.com). "He's hitting all his markers and it doesn't surprise us, because he's putting in the work."
"As for best-case scenario, we're just gonna kinda take it as it comes," Lynch added. "The hope is he's ready for training camp. The hope is he's ready for the regular season."
Whether the 23-year-old will be able to start when the regular season kicks off is still unknown, but Shanahan also remains optimistic. "We're hoping for Week 1" as far as a return is concerned, Shanahan said. He added they "don't have any reason to think otherwise."
Purdy is also hopeful about being ready by the regular-season opener and is taking things one day at a time, as he said during OTAs.
"I feel good," said Purdy, via NBC Sports. "My arm is feeling good. That's the goal, you want to be ready for the season."
The 49ers' first game in the upcoming 2023
