Brock Purdy Starting Week 1 Might not be the Best Option for the 49ers
Quarterback news is alive and well again for the San Francisco 49ers.
This time it is Brock Purdy who is the topic of discussion. Adam Schefter of ESPN was a guest on the Pat McAfee show on Wednesday where he gave a quasi update on the status of Purdy and the perspective of how the 49ers are feeling about it.
"They're optimistic, but don't know, that he will be ready for opening day," said Schefter. "But there's still a whole way to go. There's a whole plan in place."
Groundbreaking news that Schefter shared. Simply incredible (sarcasm). The quarterback talk with the 49ers is just on a rinse and repeat cycle at this point with rarely anything insightful, but I will say that Schefter's words did inspire a thought for me.
Purdy starting Week 1 might not be the best option for himself and the 49ers.
Everything for some reason feels rushed despite it not being dramatically different from the initial timeline of recovery given from his UCL surgery. But it is more than just recovering and getting accustomed to throwing again. He needs adequate time to work on some of his weaknesses from his game last year. Even if it is just one aspect of his game, it will be worth it. Why? Because Purdy hasn’t been able to improve himself at all this offseason.
When he goes out and plays this year, he’s going to be the exact same player that he put on tape last year or worse given the elbow injury he’s recovering from. He could possibly have a weaker arm or some sort of drop off that is to be determined. Either way, there’s no way he will be improved. Defenses will have tape on him and adjust to force him into uncomfortable spots. Maybe keeping him out for a few games of the beginning of the season is in his best interest.
Doing so will aid in ensuring his elbow gets stronger and that he grows more comfortable with it, but also will allow him to find an area where he can improve. It’s not like the 49ers can’t still win football games with either Trey Lance or Sam Darnold for the first three or four weeks of the season. They’re too strong of a team to not be 3-1 to start off, so really there shouldn’t be any pressure to get Purdy back.
The 49ers shouldn't be pushing or pressuring Purdy back nor should Purdy put that pressure on himself either. It is extremely beneficial for the two sides to play the long game here. Even once Purdy is cleared, there should be some time to see how his arm holds up along with working on an aspect of his game to improve on to surprise defenses. Otherwise, there is a good chance that the magical run Purdy went on last year won't come close to being replicated in 2023.
