Quarterbacks Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and, yes, Brock Purdy finally will be together in Santa Clara for the first time as teammates.
The 49ers’ official offseason program begins Monday at the team’s training facility, and a large percentage of the club is expected to be on hand for the opening of the team’s 2023 season calendar. The notable exception is NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, who will conduct his offseason training across the country, per usual.
Purdy is in the early portion of his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow — an injury he sustained early in the 49ers’ 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
Purdy underwent surgery to insert an “internal brace” on March 10. He has been rehabilitating in Arizona with physical therapist Keith Kocher, who has vast experience working with baseball players coming back from similar injuries.
Purdy will continue his work under the direction of 49ers head of strength and conditioning Dustin Perry. If all goes as anticipated, Purdy can begin a throwing program in early June that could lead to him being fully cleared at the start of the regular season.
General manager John Lynch recently said Purdy played so well in coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense as a rookie to earn the right to line up as the 49ers’ starting quarterback this season.
“He’s probably the leader in the clubhouse,” Lynch said of Purdy at the NFL Annual Meeting. “I’ll let Kyle make those kinds of decisions. But I know when we talk, I think Brock has probably earned that right to be the guy. If we were to line up, he’d probably take that first snap.”
San Francisco 49ers
But until Purdy is fully cleared to get back on the field, Lance is likely to take the bulk of the practice snaps for a second offseason in a row.
Lance has been working with private quarterbacks coach Jeff Christensen in the Dallas area. Christensen is the long-time coach of Kansas City star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Lance has returned to on-field work after undergoing surgery in mid-September to repair his fractured right ankle and ligament damage.
“With Brock being hurt, it does open it up,” Shanahan said. “It does give (Lance) a chance. I don’t know how Brock is going to come back or exactly when he’s going to come back.”
The 49ers added Darnold in the offseason, giving the 49ers an immensely talented passer who has yet to find sustained NFL success despite entering the league as the No. 3 overall pick of the New York Jets in 2018.
Former 49ers running back Frank Gore was a teammate of Darnold’s with the Jets in 2020. While at the 49ers' local pro day last week at Levi’s Stadium, Gore expressed optimism that Shanahan will get the most out of Darnold and that he will “surprise” a lot of people.
During the first two weeks of the 49ers’ offseason program, players are allowed to attend meetings and go through strength and conditioning training.
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The next phase of the offseason program consists of three weeks of on-field work but with no offensive-vs.-defense situations. The on-field work may only be conducted at walk-through pace. In the final phase, the team is allowed to go through non-padded practices with no contact.
The 49ers’ practice sessions, known as organized team activities (OTAs) are scheduled for May 22-23, May 25, May 30-May 31, June 2, June 5-6 and June 8, per the NFL.
The team’s mandatory minicamp is set for June 13 to June 15. At the end of the offseason program, the 49ers will break before reporting back for training camp in late July.