Brock Purdy has bruised elbow, likely out for 49ers' finale

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After another injury scare to his right elbow, quarterback Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday.

Additional testing on Purdy's elbow, which he injured in Monday night's loss to the Detroit Lions, showed no structural damage and that there are no long-term concerns with Purdy's elbow.

"[It's a] right elbow contusion with nerve inflammation," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "[He's] most likely going to miss this week but no long-term issues. The UCL looks fine."

With Purdy expected to miss the Niners' season finale against the Arizona Cardinals, Shanahan said Tuesday that he will decide between Joshua Dobbs and Brandon Allen for Sunday's starter.

Dobbs was the backup Monday night, but Allen started in Purdy's place in the only game Purdy previously missed this season, earlier in December against the Green Bay Packers. Purdy had a shoulder injury that week.

While Purdy's season comes to a premature end, Shanahan was thankful that the elbow injury isn't serious.

"I'm relieved but I wasn't too worried about it just with the information we had last night, so it was good to just hear the same thing today," Shanahan said.

Purdy suffered the injury with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter when he took a shotgun snap and scanned the field before trying to escape to his right. Lions safety Brian Branch tracked Purdy, wrapped him up and pulled him down for a sack.

As Purdy rolled over, Lions defensive end Pat O'Connor landed on him, hitting Purdy's elbow with his hand and then his facemask. Purdy was slow to get up, then made his way to the sideline and Dobbs entered the game.

Once Purdy reached the sideline, he talked to doctors and training staff who examined his right hand, wrist and arm. He attempted a couple of throws but was unable to regain strength in his elbow and did not return.

After the game, Purdy said the elbow felt "heavy in a sense" and that his arm "was on fire" following the hit from O'Connor.

Purdy acknowledged that he was initially concerned that it was an injury similar to the torn ulnar collateral ligament he suffered in the 2023 NFC Championship Game but that some quick tests on the sideline quickly ruled out any ligament damage.

"We did some tests with UCL stuff and I'm good in that regard," Purdy said Monday night. "But we've just got to go get imaging on it tomorrow and see the whole thing."

Following the loss to the Lions, Purdy made it clear that he wanted to play in Sunday's season finale against the Cardinals if healthy. That now appears unlikely, but the injury gives Purdy a chance to rest and prepare for what figures to be an important offseason for both him and the team.

Because this is the end of his third season, Purdy will be eligible for a contract extension for the first time in his career after Sunday's game in Arizona.

Purdy finishes the season with 3,864 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while also rushing for five scores. He ranks seventh in the NFL in QBR (67.8) and third in yards per attempt (8.5).

"He's handled this year head-on," Shanahan said. "He hasn't run from anything. He's attacked everything, plays as hard as he can and works as hard as he can. Comes in on Mondays and Tuesdays and faces the truth of everything and grinds and tries to get better each week."

Shanahan said he would decide Tuesday afternoon who will start in Purdy's place.br/]