Brock Purdy’s impressive 2023 campaign made it easy to forget about the catastrophic elbow injury he suffered in the previous season’s NFC championship game. That injury, a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, required offseason surgery and rehab that took him all the way up to the start of training camp. His first full NFL offseason was ostensibly spent in rehab instead of working on getting better as a quarterback.
This offseason was a different story for Purdy, who is already reaping the benefits sown by the opportunity to work on football in the months between the Super Bowl and the offseason program. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the growth in Purdy is already apparent.
“He is definitely ahead of where he was last year this time, but I mean it was just real cool being able to go through a whole year of cutups just like we did last year and just starting in Phase 1,” Shanahan told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “The command he had of going out there with the drills and everything and really trying to apply the stuff we had just been watching in the meeting rooms, that really happened all off our 2023 tape. Last year he had to do it and then it would just be frustrating for him because he couldn’t really go work on it. He had to just visualize and think about it and had to wait for that opportunity in training camp. This year right away it’s been awesome for him to lead us through the whole offseason, just drill wise and everything. It’s he’s been great to have for a first full offseason.”
It’s unlikely we see visible marked improvements in Purdy’s game this season given how efficient he was last year. However, there are definitely areas he can get better and having a better command of the offense will help him play more mistake-free, consistent football.
The margin between wins and losses for the 49ers is extremely thin, so any upgrade from Purdy this season could be the difference in turning a couple losses into wins. If Purdy’s improvement translates into success in the regular season it may be enough to get the 49ers over the Super Bowl hangover and back into the NFL’s championship game.
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