49ers quarterback Brock Purdy made his training camp debut Thursday after an off day Wednesday as part of a scheduled ramp up to a full practice workload.
His presence at camp offered a chance for fans and media to see him throw for the first time since he tore his UCL in the NFC championship game in January.
A video from Matt Barrows of the Athletic shows Purdy taking snaps, dropping back and delivering throws over the middle and to the flat. The good news is there doesn’t appear to be any discernible difference in his throwing motion or his velocity.
Can you detect a difference in Brock Purdy’s velocity? (I can’t). pic.twitter.com/QBWEZ25z8i
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) July 27, 2023
NBC Sports had video from another angle:
How does this make you feel, Niners fans?? 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ERwANn8jZn
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) July 27, 2023
This is still just an early step toward a full return for Purdy. He’s doing two days of practice, then taking a day off through the first couple weeks of camp. Getting back to a full slate of practices will be the first key hurdle.
The second important aspect of his recovery will be how he performs in pads with his own defense around him. Then the final obstacle will be his in-game performance when an opposing defense is coming after him and allowed to hit him.
For now though Purdy’s participation is a good sign, and the throws he made Thursday indicate he’s still on track to play in the season opener.
