49ers' Brock Purdy shares positive update amid recovery

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is using joint practices involving the Las Vegas Raiders to work his way back to full fitness following offseason elbow surgery. 

"My arm feels great," Purdy said shortly after Thursday's session concluded, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "Just still building back-to-back days and trying to gain all the strength that I can back from, obviously, just the rehab process of things. And I feel really confident."

Purdy famously suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during this year's NFC Championship Game back in January and went under the knife on March 10. He recovered ahead of previously shared timelines and was cleared to participate in practices on a "pitch count" at the start of training camp, but it was recently reported he will be allowed to "let it rip" as soon as next week. 

"I'm still trying to work my way up in terms of volume, velocity, and throwing at practice and all that kind of stuff," Purdy acknowledged Thursday. 

The 2022 rookie sensation is not expected to take snaps during the club's preseason opener at the Raiders on Sunday afternoon. It's unknown if Purdy will play during home exhibition games versus the Denver Broncos on Aug. 19 and against the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 25. 

Purdy entered the joint practices with Las Vegas comfortably atop the 49ers' depth chart ahead of 2021 first-round draft choice Trey Lance and free-agency signing Sam Darnold. The 23-year-old is now trying to get to a place where he can enjoy as standard a preseason as possible considering all that's occurred since the conference title matchup. 

"I feel like I'm back to a normal routine with my arm and stuff," Purdy added. "Obviously, taking care of it as much as I can on an off day and whatnot, but I feel almost back to normal."

While such words are encouraging, fears about Purdy possibly experiencing a setback before the Week 1 contest at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10 likely won't disappear anytime soon regardless of how well he feels during and immediately after practices.