It’s hard to get a straight answer on when exactly Brock Purdy will be ready to play football following his elbow surgery this offseason.
General manager John Lynch has maintained that he could be ready for the beginning of the season. Kyle Shanahan has said it could be as late as Week 4, and Purdy shockingly said a few weeks ago that returning to the field at all this season wasn’t a certainty.
In light of those recent comments, it was heartening to hear Lynch provide a positive update on Purdy’s progress on KNBR Thursday morning.
“First of all, he’s here,” Lynch said on the Murph & Mac show. “He’s working hard each and every day, and our staff has done a really nice job working with his surgeon and his [physical therapy] guy down in Arizona. So we had to get that all kind of coordinated so that Brock felt comfortable being up here, and we got that accomplished. So Brock’s here working with his teammates. They’re in phase two.”
According to Lynch, Purdy will begin throwing in early June, which will be three months after his surgery.
“He’s not out there throwing yet,” Lynch continued. “That’s going to happen around week 12 (12 weeks after surgery), [which] is kind of the next inflection point. But he’s doing really good, doing everything that he can do. As you know, that’s just Brock’s personality, and it’s great to see him out here every day.”
There’s a difference between starting to throw a football and being ready to play. That’s part of the reason that San Francisco brought in Sam Darnold, and likely a huge reason they haven’t traded Trey Lance. Once Purdy gets on the field, it’s anybody’s guess how his arm will react to throwing a football again.
“I just got a report from the trainers,” Lynch said. “So week 12, that’s where he can actually go out, start lobbing a football. And according to the surgeon, you start getting a little better read on exactly where he’s at right about then.
“I think that’s just kind of an indicator of where he’s at. And then obviously you have to work up your strength, your stamina, you have to increase reps, distance, all those things. But that’s going to be well thought out, and he’s doing well. I think you just take it day by day. It’s cliche, but it’s the best thing you can do, and he’s done a great job of doing that.”
Listen to the full interview above. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Catch Murph & Mac weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.
