Brock Purdy on his Return to Practice: "It was like Christmas"

Brock Purdy returned to 49ers practice Thursday for the first time since the week of the NFC Championship game.

Since that game, Purdy sustained a ruptured UCL that erased his capability to throw, thus causing the 49ers to lose and miss out on a Super Bowl appearance. Carrying the weight of that loss along with his injury into the offseason had to have felt miserable for Purdy. It wouldn't have been surprising if he even felt impatient and depressed about the way the season ended.

But Purdy, as he demonstrated on the field in eight games, showed immense mental toughness. The drive and desire to get back on the field is what fueled him in his recovery. And once the time came for him to make his debut in training camp, Purdy could not help but feel like "it was Christmas" the night before.

"Obviously to end the year like we did last year, it was heartbreaking and everything," said Purdy. "So just to go through surgery, rehab, the offseason, everything and missing OTAs. Just to be able to get out and say a play to my teammates and break a huddle, like to me, I was so excited just thinking about that. And so it was almost like last night, it was like Christmas, you're excited for the next day. And so that's how it was for me this morning and everything and I was excited to get out there.”

Wednesday's practice meant so much to Purdy because it was a sign that his injury is about to be put fully behind him. To get over that hurdle must have meant everything to him, and his return meant the beginning of the season to rewrite the unfortunate finish of 2022. It's also a fantastic sign that Purdy feels zero limitations as a result of his surgery. That was always the concern with him is if there would be any effects following it.

“I feel like I'm good enough to play 11-on-11 football," answered Purdy on if he has any limitations. "And so, we talked about that when I got back here with Shanahan and basically, I told him, I'm like, ‘hey, I feel good enough and confident enough that if I got into an 11-on-11 situation, I could make every throw.’ And so that's the conversation that we had, and they gave me the green light to go out there and go."

As it stands, the 49ers have Purdy going no more than two consecutive throwing days for at least the next two weeks. They will reassess him by then and make a call to maintain this schedule or add more to his plate. Taking the cautious approach is the right call with him, but at least early on it's so far, so good.

"I feel good enough to play football right now at camp, 11-on-11, still got to work up the volume and just continue to get better every day."

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