Brock Purdy feels ‘a lot better’ with oblique injury after extended rest

If you watched Thursday Night Football between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers last week, you would have never known rookie quarterback Brock Purdy was dealing with an oblique injury. But alas, he was and still is.

Purdy has been dealing with the injury since halfway through Week 14, getting hurt when diving for a first down in the second quarter. The ailment prevented him from throwing in practice last week, instead optimizing the short turnaround for rest and recovery. Despite the injury, Purdy started the game, finishing with a good stat line: 207 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Now with an NFC West title clinched and a few extra days to recover, Purdy’s midsection is doing a lot better heading into Week 16.

“Yeah I feel a lot better,” the rookie QB said Wednesday. “Compared to last week…And obviously having a good three days before doing anything, it’s just rest and recovery. Feel a lot better.”

Rumors began to swirl early in the week that Brock Purdy may not be able to go in the game, with his own head coach feeling like it was more wait-and-see how he felt on gameday. That wasn’t the plan for Purdy. He knew he was going to start the game, but if he could finish it was a matter of pain tolerance.

“I knew that I was going to start out the game. I didn’t know if I got hit or something happened, [if] things got worse with my oblique and whatnot, I would have to come out of the game, that kind of thing. I knew that I was going to start the game and go from there and see how it felt, but there was never a question of if I was going to play or not,” Brock Purdy stated.

It appeared as if Brock Purdy intensified his throwing regimen at 49ers practice today as he continues to recover from oblique injury. Purdy looked crisp today — seemed that he’d taken some heat off his throws yesterday (first practice back throwing) pic.twitter.com/iUvoL07OUM

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) December 21, 2022

Thankfully, he made it through the game with minimal damage, working with perseverance and toughness to lead his team to a divisional title in enemy territory.

While the box score shows a very efficient game for the former Iowa State Cyclone, he left a few balls out there that could have been better. Purdy knows and is aware of the mistakes as a perfectionist, always wanting to get better with each rep.

“I feel like for the most part, we did a solid job across the board. You know, making sure that I was able to go from one read to the next and get the ball off on time,” Purdy said. “But there’s also a couple plays that we have out there, that I have out there personally, where I can do a better job of getting through the entire progression. So those are things I continue to chip away at practice or in the meeting room…so I know I have a lot more room to grow.”

The 49ers as a whole have been a room for improvement team since training camp, both on the field and in the coaching room too. Purdy is the third QB to take a snap this season for the Red & Gold. Head coach Kyle Shanahan had to adapt to losing another coach (Mike McDaniel) for greener pastures. The team has a brand-new QB coach in Brian Griese, who last worked for ESPN as a color commentator for Monday Night Football.

Because of these nuisances, the group relied on each other to shoulder some of the load, Purdy especially, taking advice from his coaches and fellow QBs whenever he can.

“I think you know, everyone plays the game a little bit differently, but at the core we’re running the same offense with Kyle [Shanahan], his mindset in terms of progressions and where we need to be and where the ball needs to go. So we all have a different perspective of it, but we know what the main goal is, which is awesome. Jimmy [Garoppolo] has been in the offense for a while now. Trey [Lance] obviously has a whole year under his belt, so he helps me out with things that he experienced his rookie year and whatnot. But all those guys, all the input that they have, it’s been great and very blessed and thankful for their perspectives on things,” Purdy said.

But guidance and advice can only take you so far. If you want to succeed in the NFL, you have to add your own style and flair to any game plan. Purdy is aware of this and not afraid, knowing he can only be him out there on the field.

“At the end of day when you go out and get the snap, like you are your own player,” he said. “I’m not Trey, I’m not Jimmy, I’m myself and same with them. We all play the game slightly different, but we’re playing the same system. And so we’re just trusting Kyle and his progressions in the way he teaches us.”

Click here to watch Brock Purdy’s full presser

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