49ers quarterback Brock Purdy clearly had a hard time throwing in the NFC Championship Game after suffering an elbow injury on San Francisco’s first drive of the game.
After Sunday’s loss, Purdy described the injury as “extremely painful.”
“My arm just felt like it stretched out,” Purdy said in his press conference. “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.”
Eagles defensive end Haason Reddick hit Purdy’s elbow as he was trying to load up and throw it to Brandon Aiyuk with 7:03 left in the first quarter. While the play was initially ruled an incomplete pass, replay showed the ball was out of Purdy’s hand and he batted it forward. Philadelphia’s successful challenge gave the Eagles the ball.
“I thought it was an incomplete pass,” Purdy said. “And then we had a third down coming up and I went to the sideline while they were reviewing stuff — the play — just asking for a ball because I knew something wasn’t right. So I just asked to see if I could throw.
“And even in those couple of throws, I was just like, man, something is not right. And it was a fumble. And then that’s when they checked everything out and I tried throwing on the sideline and it was just extremely painful.”
When Purdy returned to the game because Josh Johnson had suffered a concussion, he knew he was very limited.
“I’d been throwing after the hit occurred on the sideline just to see where I was at. But even in those throws it was painful,” Purdy said. “So, I couldn’t throw anything probably over 10 yards, 5 yards. So, that’s why we just had some screens. It was really our only option when I went back in.”
As head coach Kyle Shanahan said, Purdy noted that he’ll undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.
“It is a little swollen in the forearm area near the elbow,” Purdy said. “Still in pain, obviously. Just have to get the MRI tomorrow.”