49ers QB Brock Purdy won't rush timeline, aiming for Week 1 return
Purdy aiming for Week 1 return but won't rush timeline originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SANTA CLARA -- Kyle Shanahan is hopeful that Brock Purdy will be ready for Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season, but the 49ers' second-year quarterback is taking a slightly more measured approach.
The Iowa State product spoke to Bay Area reporters on Tuesday for the first time since having surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on March 10.
“I feel good, the arm is feeling good,” Purdy said. “To say I’m going to be ready by this time or this time, we’re not trying to label any kind of timeline like that. For sure though, that’s a goal, to be ready for the season.
“If that’s the case, great. But we are just taking it one day at a time and don’t want to say anything that we regret down the road.”
Purdy has been participating in all team activities off of the field, including meetings and anything he can do without throwing an actual football. Shanahan explained that the weight of the ball is currently too much for this stage of his rehabilitation, and thus Purdy will has been using a towel in place of a ball.
Purdy hits the 12-week mark post-surgery next week, which has been the benchmark for him to begin throwing a football again. This date falls in line with the 49ers' second set of OTA practices but he still would only throw with trainers on a side field.
“I’m not necessarily sure in terms the timeline, and are we on schedule,” Purdy said. “We’ve been taking it from what the physical therapist, surgeon and what they’ve said. What it looks like with guys they’ve worked on.
“We’ve just been following the plan and it’s really just how your arm feels on a day-to-day basis and week-to-week basis and you make decisions from there. That’s where we are at.”
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Obviously Purdy would like to be back on the field with his teammates, but he plans to take all the precautions necessary in hopes of being ready to go on the road in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
