At the beginning of winter the hope was that Brock Purdy would be ready for training camp. As spring closes in, the outlook is far murkier.
Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters at the NFL Owner’s Meeting on Tuesday, and said that Purdy’s timeline could push his return to the playing field until Week 4 depending on how things progress. That’s the latest possible return date that has been said or reported up to this point, and comes one day after general manager John Lynch expressed optimism that Purdy could indeed be ready before the season starts.
“He won’t be able to do anything on the field for, who knows?” Shanahan told reporters. “It could go anywhere from six months to eight months. It’s all open like that. At three months out of surgery, they have a better idea if it’s going to be six months or eight months…
“In three months he could be ready for camp, if not, possibly say it’s going to go a little slower, could be Week 1, at the latest Week 4. But that’s just all estimations and we’ll see what happens.”
It’s a bummer for Purdy, who Shanahan made clear on Tuesday, as Lynch did on Monday, would be the starter heading into the 2023 season based on his play to end last year’s campaign.
For now, it is assumed that Trey Lance will begin the season as QB1, but Shanahan said that newcomer Sam Darnold will also get first team reps in training camp. It would appear that competition is somewhat open.