NFL Rumors: Brock Purdy panic, Gronk un-retiring, Raiders on the mend

NFL Rumors: Brock Purdy not showing same magic in 49ers training camp

Brock Purdy made a rapid ascension to cult hero among San Francisco 49ers fans last season. Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft was never supposed to see the field, but injuries to both Trey Lance and then Jimmy Garoppolo necessitated that Purdy started at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.

And of course, all he did was lead the team to the NFC Championship Game.

As we know, however, Purdy suffered an elbow injury in that eventual loss to the Eagles that required a serious UCL surgery this offseason. The former Iowa State star made a miraculously quick recovery, though, to be ready for the start of training camp. Unfortunately, the same magic hasn’t quite been there in practices thus far.

David Lombardi of The Athletic (subscription required) reported from 49ers camp on Wednesday that Purdy has already thrown 10 interceptions in practice, including two on Wednesday against a Raiders secondary expected to be among the worst in the NFL.

That, on the surface, looks like a cause to panic. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is doing no such thing, though, telling Lombardi that he’s not worried about it — noting the obvious that it’s better to see that in practice than in games.

Purdy was excellent when he was called upon last season at protecting the football in actual NFL games. Moreover, training camp practices — particularly joint practices — are a time when teams and players take chances that they might not in a game. It’s experimentation.

All told, camp interceptions aren’t a reason to be worried about Brock Purdy. If this trend continues into live game action, though, that would be a different story.