Brock Purdy Gives Update On Elbow Surgery Timeline, Addresses Upcoming Quarterback Battle With Trey Lance

Brock Purdy took the NFL by storm in his nine games as the starting quarterback for the 49ers. The 23-year-old began the season as the third-stringer and finished as a folk hero.

However, entering 2023, San Francisco will have an unexpected quarterback battle on its hands.

Trey Lance, the team's former No. 3 overall pick will be back at full health for OTAs after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. Purdy, 2022's Mr. Irrelevant, may or may not be back in time for training camp.

Although both guys will have to compete for the starting job, George Kittle believes that there is a clear leader in the clubhouse... if he is healthy.

Purdy, who took a hit early in the first half against the Eagles, suffered a torn UCL. It completely screwed the 49ers out of any hope at reaching the Super Bowl and exemplified the need to reinstate the NFL's third quarterback rule.

More importantly, it put Purdy's future in jeopardy. A torn UCL typically requires Tommy John surgery and often sidelines MLB pitchers for half of a year, if not a full or multiple years.

Quarterback and pitcher aren't quite comparable to one another, but it exemplifies the severity of the injury. It's no joke.

Somehow, some way, Purdy does not need Tommy John. Or at least that is the hope.

Purdy will still need to go under the knife and have his elbow repaired. The recovery period, though, is not nearly as long as it could have been.

The young signal-caller recently provided an update to Rob Maddi while at Super Bowl LVII and it sounds like the best case scenario. Purdy will get surgery in two weeks.

From there, assuming all goes according to plan, he can start throwing in three months. That would be at/around the first of June. A full recovery will take about six months.

Should that come to fruition, Purdy will be at full strength at the start of August.

The 49ers opened training camp on July 26, 2022. Assuming that timeframe is consistent, and his health trends in the right direction, Purdy would be ready to go by the second week of camp.