The Purdy Magic ended on Sunday for the San Francisco 49ers. Not because the rookie quarterback's run of solid play ended, but because of an injury, unfortunately. Purdy did re-enter the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, but it was only because his backup, Josh Johnson, was ruled out with a concussion.
Purdy didn't expect to go back onto the field. He couldn't even effectively throw the football. The quarterback suffered an elbow injury in the first quarter on the throw that was ruled a fumble recovery by the Eagles. Testing his arm on the sideline, Purdy couldn't throw the football beyond 10 yards.
"He wouldn't have gone back in if we hadn't had to," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "It was that or we were going to have go wildcat. We didn't get long enough drives to show that either."
After the game, while speaking with reporters, Purdy was still in pain.
"My arm just felt like it stretched out," Purdy explained when asked about the hit. "I just felt like, really, a lot of just shocks all over, from my elbow down to my wrist, front and back. Just pain, really, all over."
Is there a concern that the injury may be a long-term issue?
"I have no idea," Purdy responded. "We get an MRI tomorrow. It is a little swollen in the forearm area near the elbow. That's all I know. It's still in pain, obviously, but just got to get the MRI tomorrow."
Purdy had been trying to throw on the sideline to see what he could do, to see if he could find a way to help his teammates.
"Even in those throws, it was painful," Purdy admitted. "I couldn't throw anything, probably over 10 yards, five yards, so that's why we just had some screens. It was really our only option when I went back in."
Before re-entering the game, Purdy wasn't lobbying for Shanahan to put him back in, knowing that he was extremely limited in what he could do and feeling he would only hinder the offense. After returning to the game, Purdy threw just one pass.
"He couldn't throw," Shanahan explained. "Then, when he came in, we had to decide what he could throw, and there weren't too many options after that."
It was a disappointing setback for Purdy, who took over for Jimmy Garoppolo on December 4 and had helped win eight games leading to Sunday's NFC Championship Game matchup. Purdy admitted that he was frustrated that he couldn't do more against the Eagles and sad for his teammates who fought so hard alongside him to get within a game of the Super Bowl.
"He ain't got nothing to be sad about," linebacker Fred Warner said when told of Purdy's comments. "He's the reason we even got to this game. When Jimmy went down against the Dolphins, we didn't even know what our season was going to be. He came in and did a heck of a job. He's the reason we're here right now."
