49ers' Brock Purdy opens up about initial reaction to elbow injury

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy opened up regarding his initial reaction upon learning he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the team's NFC Championship game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this past January. 

"Man, I got a sick feeling when the doctors and everybody told me to come back into the facility (the day after the game)," Purdy told Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle for a piece published Wednesday. "And then when I got my MRI, came back and sat down (on a training room table at Levi’s Stadium) and they told me I tore it and I’d need surgery, that’s when my stomach dropped. I was just like, 'You’ve gotta be kidding me.'"

Purdy was on top of the football world after he went from being the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to San Francisco's QB1 after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were sidelined with season-ending injuries. The product of the Iowa State Cyclones won his first seven pro starts through the playoffs until he endured a setback he understood could cost him the entire 2023 campaign. 

"I just asked myself and sort of asked God, 'Why? Why take me through all this? Isn’t it supposed to be a storybook ending kind of thing? We were supposed to win the Super Bowl, and I’m the last draft pick, I got thrown in — we’re supposed to go all the way. And none of it panned out like that,'" Purdy continued while chatting with Silver. 

Purdy underwent surgery in March, returned to action for Week 1 in September and most recently completed 21-of-25 passes for 333 yards with three touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in this past Sunday's 27-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that improved the first-place 49ers to 7-3. 

A couple of days after that performance, he noted he believes his arm "has gotten stronger" compared to where he was in college. 

It could mean bad news for opposing defenses if Purdy hasn't yet reached his ceiling. According to ESPN stats, he heads into Thanksgiving leading the NFL among qualified players with a 77.0 adjusted QBR, a 115.1 passer rating, a 70.2% completion percentage and an average of 9.7 yards per pass attempt on the season. 

He's tied for seventh overall with 18 touchdown passes, and he tossed only five interceptions over the campaign's first 10 games. 

Purdy and the 49ers play at the 6-4 Seattle Seahawks on Thanksgiving night.