Brock Purdy has been cleared to practice and is entering San Francisco 49ers training camp as the team’s starting quarterback.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Tuesday that Purdy’s expected to start throwing on Thursday during drills with the team’s starting offense.
“He’s cleared, without restriction,” Shanahan said.
Purdy had surgery on March 10 to repair a torn UCL in his throwing elbow that he suffered in San Francisco’s NFC championship game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The procedure was initially projected to sideline him for six months, putting his status for the start of the season in question. His medical clearance for training camp puts him more than a month ahead of his projected recovery schedule.
Veterans reported to 49ers training camp Tuesday, and the first practice session is scheduled for Wednesday. Shanahan told reporters that Purdy won’t participate in the first session since he hasn’t thrown on three straight days since his surgery. But he’s expected to practice on Thursday without restriction.
Purdy, a 2022 rookie, was one of the NFL’s biggest surprises last season. He started the season as the team’s No. 3 quarterback after being selected with the final pick of the 2022 draft. Injuries to starter Trey Lance and backup Jimmy Garoppolo thrust Purdy into the unexpected position of starter in Week 13. From there, he thrived.
In nine regular season appearances including five starts, Purdy completed 67% of his passes for 8.08 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. He averaged 219.6 yards per game in the games that he started. The 49ers won each of the five games that Purdy started as part of a 10-0 finish that secured the NFC West and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Purdy then led the 49ers to playoff wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys to advance to the NFC championship. He injured his elbow in the first half against the Eagles as Philadelphia went on to a 31-7 win to advance to the Super Bowl.
