Brock Purdy’s second full season as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers ended in disappointment.
Purdy threw two interceptions in the second half of a 40-34 loss to Detroit on Monday night, and later left the game due to a right elbow injury that will probably keep him out of the season finale, which doesn’t matter for the team’s playoff chances.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said on Tuesday that Purdy’s injury involved a bruise and nerve inflammation, but it won’t cause any long-term problems for his surgically repaired right elbow. Purdy had torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow during the 2022 NFC Championship game and went through a long recovery process.
The positive news for the 49ers (6-10) is that the injury won’t affect Purdy during the offseason.
“I’m relieved, but I wasn’t too concerned,” Shanahan said. “I wasn’t too worried about it with the information we had last night. So it was good to just hear the same thing today.”
After finishing fourth in MVP voting in 2023, when he had one of the best passing seasons in franchise history, Purdy’s performance took a step back this season due to injuries affecting the offense.
This was clear again against Detroit when he followed a nearly perfect first half with two crucial mistakes that led to turnovers in the second half of another loss.
“I think he’s handled this year head on,” Shanahan said. “He hasn’t run from anything. He’s attacked everything, plays as hard as he can, and works as hard as he can.
He comes in on Mondays and Tuesdays and faces the truth of everything and comes back and grinds and tries to get better each week. … I thought last night, he was disappointed in the turnovers and he was disappointed in the loss.”
With Purdy likely out for the final game of the season, Shanahan hasn’t yet decided if Brandon Allen or Joshua Dobbs will start at Arizona on Sunday. Allen started a Week 12 loss at Green Bay when Purdy was out due to a shoulder injury, but Dobbs was the backup on Monday night and led a late touchdown drive.
