49ers QB Brock Purdy provides post-surgery update

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has offered an update on his recovery from his offseason surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. 

"For me, it’s slowly getting better — a little bit every single day," Purdy explained on Friday, as shared by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "Everything is going as planned. We’re on the same page just in terms of the Niners, [Dr. Keith] Meister and my physical therapist out here. Everyone’s on the same page, and everything’s going as planned. Very thankful for that. Just staying one day at a time from here." 

Purdy suffered the injury during the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 29, but had to wait until March 10 to go under the knife. While he did not require a full elbow reconstruction as it was initially feared he might, it was reported as recently as early April that "the Niners are working with a six-to-eight-month return-to-play timetable" for the 23-year-old signal-caller. On that timeline, Purdy could theoretically remain sidelined through the whole of November, if not longer. 

For his part, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft has offered no specific timeline for a return to football activities.

Purdy said that "it’s all God’s plan" before adding that he "trust[s] that everything happens for a reason."

Said the former Iowa State signal-caller, "So for it to be the repair with the internal brace was great news. and now we’re just taking it one day at a time." 

Back on April 3, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote that "by the summer break, San Francisco should know if it’s getting Purdy back for opening day, at some point midseason or somewhere in between." For now, 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance and free agency acquisition Sam Darnold are expected to compete for the right to win San Francisco's starting gig ahead of the 2023 season.

That is, unless the 49ers shock the football community and make a move for a proven signal-caller such as Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. As of this posting and as matters stand at this juncture, multiple in-the-know individuals expect that Darnold will beat Lance in the summer quarterback battle.