After suffering a sack late in Monday night’s 40-34 loss to the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy felt a familiar and worrying sensation in his right elbow.
“They hit me on the butt and basically my arm was on fire,” Purdy said. “I tried to throw a couple off the bench and I couldn’t at the time.”
Since Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in January 2023 during the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, it was difficult for Purdy and observers not to wonder if he had suffered a similar injury on Monday night. evening.
While Purdy will undergo further testing on the elbow on Tuesday, he and coach Kyle Shanahan suggested the initial indication is that it is a nerve issue unrelated to the ligament.
“We did some testing with UCL stuff and I’m fine in that sense,” Purdy said. “But we have to take pictures tomorrow and see everything.”
Before Purdy spoke to the media and discussed his night, Shanahan said doctors told him they thought the injury was “a nerve issue.” Shanahan said he “wouldn’t think” the injury was a cause for long-term concern, but that more testing would be needed to confirm that optimistic outlook.
“I know everyone when they hear about Brock’s elbow and stuff, like me, you think about the elbow injury from a couple years ago,” Shanahan said. “But after talking to the doctors, they hit it in the right place. When they hit you there, your nerves go away and you can’t feel much, but hopefully everything will be okay.”
With the 49ers trailing by 12 and 1:45 left in the game, Purdy took a shotgun snap and scanned the field before attempting to escape to his right. There he was met by Lions safety Brian Branch, who wrapped up Purdy and tackled him for a sack.
As Purdy rolled, Lions defensive end Pat O’Connor landed on him, hitting Purdy’s elbow with his hand and then his mask. Purdy was slow to get up and then headed to the bench with substitute Josh Dobbs replacing him.
On the sidelines, Purdy could be seen talking to doctors examining his right hand, wrist and arm. He tried a couple of throws but couldn’t regain feeling in his elbow and didn’t return for the rest of the game.
At the time, Purdy said the elbow “felt heavy in a sense.”
“It has nothing to do with quitting the game or anything like that,” Purdy said. “I love my teammates, and I’ll go all the way for them and for this fan base and for everyone, so what hurts me is that I couldn’t finish the game. But again, we’ll see tomorrow.”
Purdy tore the UCL in his right elbow against the Eagles on Jan. 29, 2023. At the time, Purdy described the injury in much harsher terms than what happened Monday night. Purdy then said that his arm “felt like it was stretched” and that he “felt like he was getting a lot of shocks all over his body, from the elbow to the wrist, front and back.”
That injury required a UCL repair and a lengthy rehab period, although Purdy returned in time to participate in training camp last season and returned to full strength at the start of the 2023 regular season.
After the game, tight end George Kittle wasn’t too worried about Purdy’s elbow.
“I’ll be worried tomorrow if I have to,” Kittle said. “Right now, I’m not worried about that.”
Monday’s injury put a premature end to one of Purdy’s most productive nights of the season. He was 27 of 35 for 377 passing yards with three touchdown passes and a rushing score before his departure, although he also threw a pair of costly interceptions. Replacing Purdy, Dobbs went 3-of-4 for 35 yards and scored on a 7-yard run, although the 49ers were unable to recover the onside kick to try to mount a late comeback.
Shanahan said Purdy’s status for Sunday’s season finale against the Arizona Cardinals is up in the air and that Dobbs would be under consideration to start that game in place of Brandon Allen.
For his part, Purdy hopes his elbow is healthy enough to allow him to finish the season against Arizona.
“We’re at a professional level and this is the best there is,” Purdy said. “So for me it’s like why wouldn’t I play for my team and try to get some momentum for next year with our guys and make a statement to everyone here and that will be here next year that I’m a competitor? I want to to be on the field any chance I get. That’s my way of thinking.”
