49ers' Brock Purdy ‘Not Really Sure' If He'll Play in 2023 After UCL Surgery

Purdy 'not really sure' if he'll play in 2023 after UCL surgery originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

Brock Purdy is encouraged by the progress he has made since having surgery to repair his torn UCL on March 10, but isn't 100 percent certain he will be able to play in 2023. 

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein, Purdy provided updates on his rehab and was asked by Epstein if he had any sense if he would be able to play at some point next season, to which he provided a candid, yet surprising response. 

"I'm not really sure, honestly," Purdy said. "I think I just got to take it one day at a time, get healthy, start throwing again, things like that and just go from there. It's all going to work out how it needs to."

There is no firm timeline for Purdy just yet, but the expectation was that he would not throw for three months and then begin a three-month ramp-up period that would give him a chance to be cleared by the end of August. That was considered to be one of the better-case scenarios, with Purdy not being ready for Week 1 still a possibility. 

Although Purdy is not able to throw just yet, he is encouraged by the progress he has made in his rehab and is happy to begin training in any capacity. 

"Just to be able to get out of the brace, move around more frequently and stuff like that — I know it sounds small, but that’s a big win,” Purdy explained. “That’s how I look at it: Finding little things like that to be positive about and understand you have what it takes to get back to being yourself on the field.”

“Conditioning and staying in shape and being thankful to sweat. Those are all things you sometimes take for granted when you’re healthy, but those are big things to be proud of.”

If Purdy is able to begin throwing in June and compete for the starting nod alongside third-year quarterback Trey Lance and veteran Sam Darnold toward the end of training camp, the 23-year-old's recovery would be considered a major success. 

However, until then, he will continue to take things just one day at a time.