Report: The likely outcome for Brock Purdy is that he won’t require Tommy John surgery

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has yet to have elbow surgery to repair his UCL. The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweeted the following:

No surgery yet for #49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Per an orthopedic surgeon not involved in this case, the idea is to make sure conditions are as good as possible — no swelling, etc. — before going in and making the repair.

NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco provided an update on Purdy, leading with “signs continue to point toward surgery that involves a six-month build-up toward returning to action.”

It sounds like Purdy’s second opinion was good news, as the initial fear was he’d require the dreaded Tommy John surgery:

“More discussions are scheduled to take place on Monday to determine the specifics and finalize Purdy’s upcoming surgical procedure, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area.

Purdy sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The likely outcome of surgery will be a consensus toward Purdy requiring an internal brace, and not the longer recovery required for Tommy John surgery, the source said.”

That’s the best-case scenario for all parties. That would make Purdy’s timeline for a healthy return just as training camp gets under way.

During his press conference last Tuesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan explained why there would be no need for a ramping up period once Purdy is fully cleared to participate at practice:

“That was the coolest thing for me to hear about that once three months is over, they start the rehab of just building the arm back slowly, and by six months it’s built back. And that’s when I started asking questions, does that mean ease him in? When you think of ACLs and they said, no, the buildups been from three-to-six and at six months, he is the same dude and full go, so that was the most encouraging part that I heard.”

That’s quite the turn of events from a week ago, when it felt plausible to say we’d never hear from Purdy again barring more unforeseen chaos at the 49ers quarterback position.

Trey Lance and Brock Purdy going head-to-head in training camp would take the cake among the recent quarterback battles. If Lance is the player you thought he was, then presumably he’d beat out Purdy for the job.

Based on how the 49ers performed with Purdy, who was also a rookie, coming in cold without any preparation, Brock will take the reps with the starters. The real question is how Shanahan intends to divide the reps between the two.

First things first, and that means Purdy must undergo successful surgery and return to the field in six months. A healthy quarterback competition will bring the best out of both players, which will take the rest of the team to another level.