49ers' Brock Purdy to Begin Throwing amid Elbow Injury Rehab; No Return Timeline

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is unable to participate in OTAs amid his recovery from elbow surgery, but there was a positive update on Tuesday.

According to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Purdy "remains on schedule in his rehab" and he "is slated to start throwing sometime next week." However, Purdy told reporters that he still doesn't want to put a timeline on his potential return to the field.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury in San Francisco's NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. 2021 No. 3 pick Trey Lance is also working his way back from a broken ankle and has done quarterback drills at OTAs. The 49ers also signed Sam Darnold to add some experience to the QB room.

While Purdy is hoping to be ready by Week 1 of the 2023 season, he was cautious with his optimism.

"I feel good, my arm is feeling good, [but] to say I'm gonna be ready by this time or this time... we're not trying to label any kind of timeline like that," he said. "For sure, though, that's the goal—you want to be ready for the season. If that's the case, great, but like I said, we're just taking it one day at a time and don't want to say anything we regret down the road."

However, Shanahan offered a more confident outlook and was willing to say that the start of this season is the target for Purdy's return.

"It's not really that it's a moving target; it's that only God knows and it's all estimates," Shanahan said. "So, it depends on what 'people' have got for me. But I mean, we're hoping for Week 1 and feeling pretty optimistic about that. That's what we're hoping for, he'll be ready to play in Week 1. And usually that doesn't mean that's the day he comes back—usually you've got to come before that to make that goal. And that's kind of the goal we're hoping for and don't have any reason to think differently."

The 49ers will open the 2023 season on Sept. 10 with a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.