National Football League

Niners 'encouraged' as Brock Purdy begins throwing; on track to return by Week 1

Published May. 31, 2023 3:41 p.m. ET

The San Francisco 49ers will enter the 2023 season as a favorite in the NFC after reaching three of the past four conference title games — despite a massive question mark at quarterback.

Brock Purdy, who ascended from the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to become the team's starter late in the season, is recovering from Tommy John surgery after tearing his UCL in the 49ers' NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. San Francisco also has former top-three overall picks Trey Lance and Sam Darnold on the roster as high-upside insurance in case Purdy misses time during the 2023 season.

The latest updates on Purdy's rehab, however, are positive. Purdy recently began throwing exercises for the first time after his surgery, and 49ers general manager John Lynch told Sirius XM Radio on Wednesday that the team is "incredibly encouraged" by the 23-year-old quarterback's first session. But the GM reiterated that there is no ironclad timeline on Purdy's return to the field.

"Brock's a worker," Lynch said, via The Athletic. "You give him a task and he's going to do everything in his power. … He's hitting all his markers, and that doesn't surprise us because he's putting in the work. As for best-case scenario, we're just going to take it as it comes. The hope is he's ready for training camp [or] the regular season."

Lynch also said the team will not rush Purdy's recovery and feels good "holistically" about the quarterback position because of the presence of Lance and Darnold.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport also said Wednesday on "The Pat McAfee Show" that Purdy's ability to start throwing puts him on pace to be "around 100 percent" right before the start of the 2023 NFL season. Rapoport also said the 49ers see Purdy as "a massive part of their future" and his rehab process is going "about as well as they could have hoped for."

The 49ers open the 2023 season against the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sept. 10.

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