49ers news: Brock Purdy said what about playing in 2023?

Perhaps it was a careless slip of the tongue, but 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy didn’t exactly provide much confidence in his playing ability for 2023.

It’s not news to question whether or not San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy misses time to open up the 2023 regular season.

After all, his offseason surgery to repair a torn UCL in his throwing elbow came with a six-month recovery timeline, and that recovery appears to stretch into the regular season.

But, would Purdy miss all of 2023?

Some recent comments from last year’s rookie upstart certainly made it sound like that was a possibility.

Brock Purdy drops hint that he might miss all of 2023 NFL season

Speaking with Jori Epstein of Yahoo! Sports (h/t 49ers Webzone), Purdy made a comment about potentially not being fully capable of playing in the upcoming season, as Epstein transcribed:

"That remains an early step in recovery, Purdy saying Friday he’s “not really sure, honestly” whether he’ll play in 2023 as he takes it “one day at a time.” In recent days, progress has come in the form of increased mobility."

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Wait, what?

Maybe this is just the naivety of a young player who isn’t sure what the recovery process will entail. Or, perhaps he knows something the rest of the league doesn’t.

It’s also just as possible he is taking it “one day at a time,” as he said, and not thinking much beyond that.

The injury, as unfortunate as it is, does open up the door for fellow quarterback Trey Lance to reassume starting duties after effectively losing them after his own serious ankle injury suffered last season.

Purdy already won’t be around for offseason workouts and will likely miss training camp. Now, if he misses all of 2023, Lance would be in a prime position to reassert himself as San Francisco’s starter.