49ERS QB BROCK PURDY POSTPONES UCL REPAIR SURGERY DUE TO INFLAMMATION
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was advised to postpone surgery on his elbow after a doctor’s visit this week, as per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Purdy injured his elbow a month ago, on January 29th, in the first half of the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles. According to Pelissero, Purdy visited orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister at TMI Sports Medicine, Arlington, Texas who recommended postponing the surgery because of ongoing inflammation.
With inflammation in his elbow, Purdy is expected to have a few weeks of rest and icing the area until the pain and swelling are gone. Once the inflammation has decreased, he may then begin physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the elbow or have surgery after a subsequent MRI or x-ray.
Per Tom Pelissero, the best outcome for Purdy regarding the “internal brace surgery” comes once the inflammation is gone and range of motion is back. So the soon-to-be second-year quarterback will wait to take action on the injury on his throwing arm so as to increase the chance of his return to 100%.
Purdy and Dr. Meister have a follow-up scheduled for early March and all signs point to an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) repair. The time frame for a UCL injury treated without surgery ranges anywhere between several weeks to several months while rehabilitation after surgery could take nine months to a year, sometimes longer. Nevertheless the 49ers expect Purdy to be ready in time for 2023.
The 2022 Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant was thrust into the starting lineup in week 13 for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and recorded a perfect 5-0 finish as a starter in the regular season, scoring 13 touchdowns, and throwing just four interceptions. He also had a stellar 107.3 QB rating.
Purdy then led the Niners to convincing postseason wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys before he was hurt in Philadelphia. The Queen Creek, Arizona native threw for 546 yards and 4 touchdowns in those two playoff games, putting on one of the most impressive rookie quarterback performances in NFL history. Purdy’s 332 yards in the Wild Card game against the Seahawks were the most by a rookie quarterback in a playoff game.
Adored by his teammates, the former Iowa State signal caller is expected to compete for the starting job in 2023 with the 49ers’ third overall pick in the 2021 draft, Trey Lance, whose season ended prematurely after an ankle injury in September.
Lance has a good relationship with Purdy and said a few weeks back, “He [Purdy] is a great dude. Great dude to be around. Even before [the season], going back to training camp and OTAs, being able to hang around with him off the field, [he’s] just a great human being.”
“Truly, and being able to meet his family, his brother, his girlfriend, people like that, people that he surrounds himself with, really says a lot about him.”
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel recently spoke about Purdy’s leadership qualities on the IAMATHLETE Podcast and said the 23-year-old is “legit.” Samuel said, “What I like so much about Purdy is…you can see his confidence and just hearing him talk, and how he walks off the field… Being able to be thrown into the fire with OTAs, minicamp, and camp, and no reps with one person out there. And to see how he’s elevated week in, and week out… Purdy is legit.”
While the team has a tough decision to make at quarterback moving forward, Niners fans will be anxiously monitoring the health of both Purdy and Lance. The 49ers are still expected to try and move on veteran Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.