There was a little concern when 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s warm-up routine of several weeks suddenly changed Monday, but coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch explained the process Wednesday.
When Purdy returned to practice following surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm, there was a pitch count the staff stuck to for his ramp-up to full participation.
The second-year quarterback was later given a “no restrictions” tag, thus it seemed odd that on Monday following the 49ers' preseason finale, Purdy was not throwing nearly as much during warm-ups as he had throughout training camp.
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“That goes back to our same numbers that we decided on like two months ago,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “I think I’m going to mess up the numbers, but it was like 700 throws a week or something. We plan on de-loading this week and trying to cut that in half. So, it’ll be the same thing today before practice and tomorrow.”
Purdy previously went through throwing drills alongside his fellow quarterbacks and tossed warm-up throws to the wide receivers and tight ends. On Monday, the Iowa State product did none of that. He threw a few passes to nearby training staff, but later participated in practice after it was closed to media.
To ensure Purdy’s arm does not feel fatigue or have a setback during the season, his workload has been significantly lowered this week. It will then be increased as the club readies itself for their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10.
“We’re calling it a de-load week,” Lynch said. “He went through a lot to get through camp and he needed to do that. This was all part of a previous plan. This week was going to be set up for, let’s freshen it back up and give him the opportunity to go into the season as fresh as he can be.”
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers' training staff was planning for the long term when it came to their quarterback’s recovery. The team wants and needs him to stay healthy through a long 17-game regular season.
“I’m thrilled with Brock, thrilled with our staff and all the people that helped him in an excellent recovery,” Lynch said. “And this is just another step in that. The great news is, I don’t have a crystal ball, but I would imagine he will go into next week feeling a lot better just because the volume was reduced on him this week.
"And it’s all part of the plan.”