Brock Purdy medical update is a good sign for 2023 season

Per Garafolo, Purdy is expected to begin throwing again in three months, which would put him on a timeline to begin the throwing portion of his recovery in June. The first Sunday of the NFL regular season is Sept. 10. Whether he begins the year as the starter or as Trey Lance’s backup is something Kyle Shanahan will decide this summer.

The team traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Trey Lance and took Purdy with the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. If it were a decision based on how the team valued the two QBs out of college, the job would be Lance’s in a landslide. 

The jury remains out on whether the Lance trade was a good deal or not, but it’s more obvious San Francisco got a huge steal by landing Purdy. San Francisco traded its 2021 first-round pick (12th overall) — which ended up being Cowboys star defender Micah Parsons — as well as its first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 along with a 2022 third-round pick to trade up for Lance.

Once Purdy took over under center in Week 13 against Miami, he led the 49ers to eight consecutive wins leading to the NFC Championship Game. He was 155-of-233 (66.5 percent) for 1,943 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions during that span, which ended with his UCL tear at Philadelphia.

Lance spent his first year as Jimmy Garoppolo’s backup and was named the starter heading into the 2022 season. He didn’t have much of a chance to prove himself after playing in a torrential rainstorm in Week 1 at Chicago and then suffering a season-ending ankle injury late in the first quarter in Week 2 against Seattle.

He has four career starts and is 56-of-102 (54.9 percent) for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Lance also has 54 career rushing attempts for 235 yards, his dual-threat capabilities being a big reason the team traded up for him. Purdy, by comparison, had 29 carries for 37 yards this past season.

49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Shanahan both expressed a desire to move on from Garoppolo this offseason, paving the way to the 49ers’ decision coming down to Lance or Purdy.

The impending QB battle in San Francisco will be one of the biggest during training camp. It’s a good thing there aren’t many questions elsewhere on the 49ers roster. There are enough at QB to last an entire offseason.