SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy calmly stood 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage in a T-shirt, tugged his hands on a towel draped around his neck, and listened with his left ear as a play call was radioed to the quarterbacks, a three-man rotation practicing in his place.
Next week, Purdy expects to start throwing a football for the first time since … the NFC Championship Game loss at Philadelphia, where his arm was struck on the opening series, his UCL was torn, his backup Josh Johnson suffered a concussion, and the 49ers were doomed to a 31-7 exit.
His surgically repaired elbow ligament is getting better by the day, fueling hope he will be ready for the Sept. 10 season opener at Pittsburgh.
