Recently, it looked like the San Francisco 49ers were a developing Cinderella story, as injuries to first and second-string quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo resulted in rookie Brock Purdy being promoted.
As the team’s first-string QB starting in Week 13, Purdy played impressively, and it was looking like he was not only the team’s new franchise signal-caller but possibly on his way to leading it to its sixth Super Bowl championship.
But Purdy injured his elbow during the Niners’ NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and today, they found out that the injury is a very serious one.
#49ers QB Brock Purdy suffered a complete tear of the UCL in his throwing elbow and will undergo surgery, per sources.
Purdy is getting second opinions, but the initial hope is he can undergo a repair — not reconstruction (AKA Tommy John) — and will be ready for training camp. pic.twitter.com/dFGQGpPALw
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023
If he merely needs to have the ligament repaired, he may miss about six months, but undergoing Tommy John surgery would be a much different story.
It is a procedure that pitchers in baseball sometimes undergo, and they will often miss a year or two after such a procedure.
If Purdy does undergo Tommy John surgery or is otherwise not available when training camp starts in July, it will be interesting to see what the 49ers do at the QB position.
Lance hasn’t played a lot of organized football dating back to his college days at North Dakota State University, but some still feel he has the potential to be at least a serviceable player.
Of course, there is always, at least conceivably, the possibility that they bring back Garoppolo once again to serve as a backup and perhaps a starter under center, although doing so would be expensive.
San Francisco is looking to give star defensive end Nick Bosa, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, a contract extension, and retaining Garoppolo would likely complicate its efforts to do so.
NEXT: 49ers Make 2 Notable Moves Before Sunday's Championship Game
