Brock Purdy’s elbow was on fire after the hit, but he says his surgically repaired ligament is fine

Brock Purdy’s elbow was on fire after the hit, but he says his surgically repaired ligament is fine

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy injured his surgically repaired throwing arm late in a loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, the latest setback in an injury-plagued season for the San Francisco 49ers.

The injury occurred in the final two minutes of a 40-34 loss for San Francisco when Brian Branch brought down Purdy with a sack on a blitz. Purdy rolled over as he fell to the ground and his right elbow hit defender Pat O’Connor directly on the facemask.

Purdy said his elbow was initially “on fire” and he had to undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

“It doesn’t feel good,” he said. “But it doesn’t feel too bad, so we’ll see tomorrow.”

Purdy said initial tests showed no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament he suffered in a 2022 NFC title game loss at Philadelphia and he hopes to play in Sunday’s season finale.

Purdy underwent surgery in the offseason but made it back into the 2023 season after extensive rehabilitation.

“I talked to the doctors – he just got hit in the right place,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Hit your nerves. He couldn’t feel much.”

Joshua Dobbs replaced Purdy and led a touchdown drive to erase the loss, leaving the Niners (6-10) assured of finishing in last place in the NFC West after making it to the Super Bowl last season .

Purdy’s injury was just the latest to strike San Francisco this season, with stars Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa and Dre Greenlaw among the many key players sidelined for multiple games.

The situation was so dire that on Monday night, Purdy was playing behind an offensive line that featured a third and fourth stringer on both the left side and the left side.

Purdy overcame that obstacle early and played a nearly flawless first half as he threw two touchdown passes, went for another score on the first three drives and posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3.

“We were in a crisis,” he said. “At that point in the game we were just aggressive and trying to win the game no matter what. The passing game went really well.”

After throwing another touchdown pass on San Francisco’s first drive of the second half, Purdy continued to fight through, throwing two interceptions to Kerby Joseph that ended the Niners’ hopes of a win.

This is the kind of season for Purdy, who hasn’t been able to match the heights he reached last season, when he led the NFL with a 113 passer rating and 9.6 yards per attempt and won MVP honors. Voted fourth place.

Purdy’s numbers have dropped significantly this season and he has 20 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. But despite the injury and San Francisco’s exit from the playoffs, Purdy wants to play in Arizona on Sunday.

“I want to finish the season with our boys,” he said. “For me, why wouldn’t I play for my team and try to get some momentum going with our guys for next year and make a statement to everyone here and next year that I’m a competitor? I will be on the field every chance I get.”

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