49ers football is back and so is Brock Purdy.
Back on March 10, Purdy underwent surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow that he injured in the NFC Championship. On Tuesday, as the Niners got their physicals done for training camp, general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Purdy has been cleared to practice.
"Brock's cleared and ready to go," Lynch said. "He's been cleared. He's gonna be without restrictions. Having said that, we're sticking and adhering to a plan that's been put in place for some time. He got after it the past couple of days. We upped his pitch count, so that was kind of the peak of the buildup. He'll take off Day 1 (Wednesday) but we believe in that plan. … The great news is that Brock has worked his tail off and he's ready to go."
The plan is keep Purdy on a "pitch count" and prevent him from throwing three days in a row. The team is hopeful that Purdy can be a full participant in all the sessions in a couple of weeks.
"I always thought – in my mind, just so I wouldn't be disappointed – it would take a few weeks in camp," Shanahan said. "But he always looked like he would be ready, because you didn't see any setbacks. Talking to other guys, that's how it ended up."
Shanahan had operated this summer under the assumption that quarterbacks Trey Lance and Sam Darnold would be splitting QB1 reps, but admitted that he has some more shuffling to do. It's a good "problem" to have, considering Purdy led the 49ers to eight straight wins last season before his injury.
"There's more musical chairs with one guy who's not always there, gonna take some days off," Shanahan said of Purdy. "I was always ready that this could happen. So the fact that this did happen is good."
It appears that Purdy is ahead of schedule, as initial forecasts figured he wouldn't be cleared until toward the end of training camp. The 49ers' first preseason game is on Aug. 13 at the Las Vegas Raiders, while San Francisco will travel to Pittsburgh for Week 1 on Sept. 10, exactly six months after Purdy's operation.
