Brock Purdy's recovery from surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right throwing elbow in March was anything but easy, but the 49ers quarterback is back on the field practicing with his teammates and appears to be at or near full strength already.
How did the second-year signal-caller beat the estimated six-month timeline? It took plenty of grueling work on and off the field, plus a strict, meticulous plan put forward by team doctors and the 49ers' training staff.
“Honestly, they gave me a plan, we all sat down, had a plan, and we just stuck to it," Purdy told reporters Thursday after training camp practice. "And it was just get better every single day. You know, once we start throwing, here's the set of throws we’ve got, here's the amount of volume, here's the intensity, and then just work your way up, see how you feel after every throwing session, and then just go from there. So, there's never been a time in my mind where I'm like, ‘Oh yeah, I'm going to be here, here.’ I've taken it literally one day at a time, one week at a time, and thankful to be where we're at.”
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Purdy's first step was using a slow ramp-up period to do simple things while testing the range of motion in his elbow in preparation for a throwing program he attended in Jacksonville, Fla. last month. Although his return to practice this week was a significant milestone, the work is far from over.
"We had really great advice from all those professionals along the way and slowly got to where we're at and still have a plan to continue to carry out," Purdy said. "It's not, ‘Oh, we made it and we threw in practice. It's over.’ We still have some stuff to do.”
Purdy made steady progress throughout the spring and early summer but felt his trip to Jacksonville and his work with Dr. Tom Gormely and trainer Will Hewlett allowed him to quickly build up strength in his elbow and prepare him for the upcoming training camp grind.
“I think when I left and went there it was more, ‘Hey, I’ve got to pick up the intensity,'" Purdy added. "So, with these throws, we might not get a lot of throws like I did back here in San Francisco, but when I go there let's pick up the intensity, let's start ripping some stuff. And so that's really what we focused on. And there were days where man, it was like, yeah, my arm was fatigued, and I had to just continue to build up my strength when I was in Jacksonville.
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"And so, when I left and came back here, I felt like I was in a great spot, being able to throw back-to-back days and all that kind of stuff. So that's really what we focused on was being able to throw back-to-back days, just like practice when we get into camp and into the season and stuff."
While focusing so much of his attention on rehab, Purdy also had to balance normal quarterback offseason activities, such as watching film and studying the 49ers' playbook in preparation for next season.
“Yeah, obviously you wake up, take all the right supplements for your arm and everything, and then you go and do your rehab," Purdy explained. "I still worked out my body, did everything, just with my body itself, not just my arm. And then I come home and get into the playbook, watch some film, break down stuff that I could've done better last year, just a couple hours of that, and then still try to do a little bit more treatment after on my arm.
"And then honestly like sleep. Just getting really good sleep. I know it sounds cheesy, but that I think is a game-changer in terms of getting back from an injury. So, I just try to do every little thing right. And then over the first two months, I started seeing like, ‘Oh shoot, I feel really good.’ And so, I've just been trying to maintain that and get better.”
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Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have hinted throughout the offseason that if healthy, Purdy likely will be the 49ers' starting quarterback in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If that's the case, Purdy's dedication to his long and grueling rehab process will have paid off.