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Brock Purdy injury: Revisiting 49ers QB's torn UCL from NFC championship game vs. Eagles

Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORK
·4 min read

Former Iowa State and current 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has taken a long road to starting in the 2024 Super Bowl against the Chiefs, from being selected last in the 2022 NFL Draft to starting his rookie season as the third-string quarterback.

A not-insignificant hurdle in his road to Las Vegas: the season-ending injury he suffered last season in San Francisco's 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game.

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Purdy completely tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing elbow vs. the Eagles, forcing then-recently signed backup Josh Johnson into action. Johnson then suffered his own injury, which meant Purdy had to go back into the game despite being unable to throw the ball.

Purdy finished the game 4 of 4 passing for 23 yards with a fumble, which occurred on the play in which he injured his UCL. Based on Purdy's play in 2023, a season in which he was an NFL MVP finalist, casual fans might not realize he ever had to overcome the injury —- making it all the more impressive.

Here's a lookback at Purdy's injury, along with his recovery process:

Brock Purdy injury, revisited

Purdy exited the 49ers' game against the Eagles in the first quarter of last season's NFC championship game after he took a shot to the arm by pass-rusher Haason Reddick. The injury was later revealed to be a completely torn UCL, a ligament in the elbow.

However, Purdy had to return in the third quarter after Johnson entered the concussion protocol, leaving the 49ers without a healthy quarterback available against one of the league's top defenses. Purdy didn't technically throw a downfield pass the remainder of the game, but was credited with two completions for 4 yards after re-entering.

"When he (went back) in we had to decide what he could throw and there weren’t too many options," San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game.

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According to ESPN, Purdy was able to have the surgery completed with InternalBrace augmentation, a newer form of UCL repair that is less complex than Tommy John, which typically takes at least a year to recover. Purdy was fully cleared to return from injury in July and didn't miss any of the 49ers' training camp after undergoing surgery on March 10.

Purdy was on a training camp program, which Shanahan explained was to give him ample rest while not overworking his arm.

“We’re never going to have him go three days in a row," Shanahan told reporters during training camp in August.

Purdy's injury also led to the 49ers courting Tom Brady (before the seven-time Super Bowl winner formally announced his retirement prior to the 2023 season). Shanahan told NBC's Peter King in a story posted Monday that he was hoping to sign Brady wyile Purdy still dealt with his UCL injury.

“Yes, I was serious about it,” Shanahan told NBC. “As we talked, I’m looking at Brock, and he’s got his arm in a sling, and I really am not sure I’ve got a quarterback who’s going to be ready for the start of the 2023 season. That started all of this.”

Purdy entered the 2023 season as the starter, according to Shanahan, but split reps with newly signed backup Sam Darnold and Trey Lance, who was later traded to the Dallas Cowboys midseason. Purdy then went on to have one of the best seasons by an NFL quarterback in 2023, being named an MVP finalist alongside Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Dak Prescott and teammate Christian McCaffrey.

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What is a UCL injury?

UCL stands for ulnar collateral ligament. The UCL is located on the inside of the elbow and is connected to the hemerus, the bone in the upper arm.

According to Johns Hopkins Medical, UCL injuries typically occur in sports or by repeated stress from overhead movement, like throwing a ball. While the injury is usually gradual, it can also occur in a single traumatic event, like the hit Purdy took to his arm vs. the Eagles.

Brock Purdy recovery timeline

Here's a timeline of Purdy's recovery:

Brock Purdy 2023 stats

  • 2023: 308 of 444 passing (69.4%) for 4,280 yards with 31 touchdowns to 11 interceptions; 39 carries for 144 yards with two touchdowns

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Brock Purdy injury: Revisiting 49ers QB's UCL injury in NFC championship