It appears there’s a legitimate fear San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy could be sidelined longer than six months following his upcoming surgery.
According to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, Purdy explained during a Thursday appearance on San Francisco radio station KNBR that “there could be some question as to getting a hybrid surgery, which is reconstruction with the internal brace” to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
“So we’re going into it thinking the repair with the internal brace, for sure. All the surgeons have said that, and that’s what we’re hoping for, and get a six-month recovery in and be ready to [training] camp,” Purdy said.
However, Purdy confirmed that Dr. Keith Meister could determine once he examines the nature of the injury up close that the signal-caller needs reconstruction.
Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper pointed out that “a more complex surgery would come with a different outlook” than a six-month recovery timeline. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner noted on Wednesday that a Tommy John reconstruction surgery could keep “Purdy out for about a year and cost him the 2023 season.”
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Adickes told Dan Patrick last week he thought Purdy could miss about a full year following surgery. The 23-year-old is scheduled to go under the knife on Feb. 22.
Purdy insisted Thursday that Dr. Meister will make “the best call for my career moving forward” and “the best decision for us.”
The 49ers find themselves in somewhat of a quarterback purgatory. 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance remains an unproven commodity who has recorded just 102 career regular-season pass attempts and is coming off a season-ending ankle injury he suffered in September. Jimmy Garoppolo is on track to hit free agency when the new league year opens in March and seemingly has already broken up with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. The recently retired Tom Brady is no longer an option for multiple reasons.
In short, quarterbacks such as Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers may want to wait until at least Feb. 22 before making any monumental decisions about their playing futures.
