There’s beginning to be more clarity on the quarterback the Pittsburgh Steelers could face heading into Week 1. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported today that Purdy is the “clear favorite” to start on September 10th against the Steelers.
Purdy had surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament, an injury more common in baseball pitchers. Last week, he began throwing a football, and Maiocco reports that he could get full medical clearance around August 21, which would give him 20 days to ramp up and prepare for the season opener.
Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft who got thrust into a starting role with injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo and led San Francisco all the way to the NFC Championship game before getting injured himself. Garoppolo is in Las Vegas (for now), while Lance is still recovering from a knee injury and competing with Purdy and Sam Darnold for the starting job in San Francisco.
Purdy’s proved he can be a winner and led a 49ers team that’s run- and defense-oriented to victory by being a steady presence and a game manager. While he doesn’t quite have the arm or the speed of Lance, he’s proven to be less mistake-prone while leading the 49ers offense. He finished the 2022 season with 1,877 yards, 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions, and led San Francisco to wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys in the postseason.
Knowing that Purdy is the likely starter gives Pittsburgh more of an idea of what to prepare for. If Lance was the starter, Pittsburgh would need to be more prepared for him to use his legs and try to escape the pocket, while Purdy is more of a traditional pocket passer. The biggest threat remains 49ers running back Christian McCaffery, who along with wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are the anchors of an offense that can be explosive at times.
Week 1 is going to be a big test for the Steelers. San Francisco is one of the best teams in the NFL, and if the Steelers can make a statement with a win, they’ll put the rest of the league on notice about what sort of team they can be in 2023.
