Brock Purdy’s fairytale sophomore season with the 49ers was truly one for the books. As Mr. Irrelevant, few expected him to even make the 53-man roster as a rookie. But he silenced the doubters, first leading the team to an NFC Championship appearance, and then to the Super Bowl the following year. A true Cinderella run. What often gets overlooked, though, is that it all came after elbow surgery in Year 1.
Advertisement
And according to Purdy himself, not many seemed to have fully grasped just how brutal that comeback really was to date.
In his latest appearance on Bussin’ With The Boys, the Iowa alum didn’t hold back while recounting the grind of returning from his torn UCL, a major injury to his throwing arm suffered in January 2023 during the NFC title Game.
“You tear it… late January, and then you get back for the first game in August or September,” Purdy said, noting just how fast his return was. “I feel like people just forgot about it… the fact that I literally had surgery on my throwing arm and then came back and went all the way to the Super Bowl.”
That wasn’t an exaggeration. He underwent the surgery in March and then spent every waking moment rehabbing, from strict vitamin routines to sleep optimization and constant throwing drills, just to get ready for Week 1.
“That year was a grind for me, dude,” he said. “Right when the season ended, I was rehabbing every day. I didn’t stop.”
But behind the comeback was serious doubt. Purdy candidly admitted there were plenty of low points during rehab when he questioned everything.
“I had no idea, dude,” he shared about his outlook early on. “I was in uncharted waters. I’d never had a surgery like this before, and it was on my throwing arm.”
The timeline only added pressure. While most baseball pitchers take up to a year to return from similar UCL injuries, Purdy was expected to do the rarest of achievements by trying to get back in six months.
“There were definitely moments where I was like, ‘Bro, this sucks,’” the 49ers QB said. “I could barely open my palm… how was I supposed to grip a football and throw it over and over again?”
But as it turned out, things had to get worse before they got better. After the NFC title game, he immediately flew to Dallas to meet with surgeon Dr. Keith Meister, only to find out that surgery couldn’t happen right away due to inflammation.
“I was sort of panicking,” Purdy admitted. “I was like, ‘Dude, we’re wasting time right now.’ I thought we’d fly in and have surgery right away… but they said, ‘No, you’ve gotta wait, calm the arm down first.’”
And as we now know, that wait, although frustrating, likely saved his season. He lived to fight another day before valiantly going down against Patrick Mahomes & Co. for the Lombardi Trophy.
His UCL issues indeed bothered him throughout last season. But now, with a full offseason ahead and no injury concerns, Purdy looks healthy, focused, and ready for another deep playoff run.
But make no mistake, based on his interaction with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, it’s clear that he hasn’t forgotten how much it took to get back here. And judging by his words, he’s not letting anyone else forget either.
