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

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Brock Purdy hurt his surgically repaired throwing elbow late in a loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night, the latest blow in an injury-plagued season for the San Francisco 49ers.

The injury came 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 went right into the face mask of defensive lineman Pat O'Connor.

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

“It doesn’t feel the best,” he said. “But it doesn’t feel that bad, so we’ll see tomorrow.”

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

Purdy had surgery that offseason but made it back to start the 2023 season after going through an extensive rehabilitation.

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

Joshua Dobbs replaced Purdy and led a touchdown drive to close out the loss, which left 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 hit San Francisco this season, with stars Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa and Dre Greenlaw among the many key players to be sidelined for multiple games.

The situation was so dire that Purdy played Monday night behind an offensive line that featured third and fourth stringers at both left guard and left tackle.

Purdy overcame that obstacle early, playing a nearly flawless first half when he threw two TD passes and ran for another score on the first three drives and posted a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

“We were in a groove,” he said. “At that point of the game, we were just being aggressive and trying to win the game however it took. The pass game was going really well.”

After throwing another touchdown pass on San Francisco's first drive of the second half, Purdy struggled down the stretch, throwing two interceptions to Kerby Joseph that ended the Niners' hopes of a victory.

That's the kind of season it has been for Purdy, who has been unable to match the heights he reached last season when he led the NFL with a 113 passer rating and 9.6 yards per attempt while finishing fourth in MVP voting.

Purdy's numbers have taken a significant drop this season and he has 20 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. But even with the injury and San Francisco out of playoff contention, Purdy wants to play Sunday at Arizona.

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

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