We’re getting there: 49ers’ Purdy takes 10 snaps in return

Santa Clara, Calif. — Brock Purdy checked two important chests for the San Francisco 49ers in his return from offseason elbow surgery Saturday night.

For most of the week, head coach Kyle Shanahan was unsure if Purdy would play against the Denver Broncos, but ultimately chose to give Purdy the start in hopes of getting him a full series.

Purdy, playing against an opponent for the first time since tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Jan. 29 in the NFC Championship Game, had just that. Joining all of the Niners’ prospects except for left tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kettle, Purdy played 10 snaps and led the Niners on a 69-yard drive capping off with a field goal to open the game, 21–20 win.

“I thought he did a really good job,” Shanahan said. “I mean, all the plays he’s done, he’s done, and I don’t think he’s ever had a bad play.”

Shanahan dialed in a play and an easy pass to Deebo Samuel wide wide for a 25-yard gain on the first play, and Purdy finished 4 of 5 for 65 yards on the drive. Along the way, Purdy also notched up his first strikeouts since that loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, including a sack for a loss of 8, and scrambled for a gain of 8 on the next play.

According to Shanahan, the sack was caused by broken protection and there wasn’t much Purdy could do to avoid it. Purdy previously said he had no interest in taking a hit again, but was happy to get it out of the way and get ahead against the Broncos.

“Honestly, yeah, it was nice to be able to drive and then be able to take a few batters and start playing and run a play again right after that,” Purdy said. “It’s part of the game and honestly it kind of helps me settle into the game. I thought it was very good to be able to go through that.”

Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have said since league meetings in March that Purdy would be the team’s starter as long as he was healthy enough to handle the job. Purdy was then allowed to practice on two out of three days to open training camp in late July, and last week that restriction was removed, practicing on three consecutive days for the first time.

With most of the major hurdles out of the way, Purdy is on track to start its opener on September 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. For now, he and the team still monitor how many pitches he makes on a given day so you don’t “throw your arm off every day.”

Aside from that, Purdy has no other tests to pass other than hitting the health opener. Prior to that, Shanahan said, he will play in the final preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday along with some other 49ers.

“Honestly, I feel good,” Purdy said. “I want to be able to practice consistently and come back to the first week, and be ready to rip it. We got there.”

Meanwhile, in the battle for the backup job, Sam Darnold replaced Purdy for San Francisco’s second drive and played most of the third quarter. He finished 11 of 14 for 109 yards with an interception and a touchdown for a passer rating of 93.2.

Trey Lance stepped in in place of Darnold at the end of the third quarter, working with a third-string offense against Denver’s third-team defense. After a slow start, Lance ends up thriving. Lance went 8 of 10 for 142 yards and a score on the last two drives, helping the Niners win on a last-second 32-yard field goal by rookie kicker Jake Moody.

Lance finished 12 of 18 for 173 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a passer rating of 93.0.

In training camp and the first two preseason games, Lance and Darnold alternated with the second team offense as they battled for a spot on the depth chart. It’s unclear how the cast will be split for the final preseason game, but Shanahan was pleased with what he saw from all three quarterbacks on Saturday.

“I thought all three of them did a good job,” said Shanahan. “A good starting point for next week.”