49ers QB Brock Purdy has torn UCL in right elbow

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — An offseason that already figured to have plenty of quarterback-centric questions for the San Francisco 49ers now has even more.

In the first quarter of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, Niners rookie quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow that will keep him out for six months, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday. Based on that timeline, Purdy could return around the start of training camp or, perhaps, a couple of weeks into it.

Purdy is seeking additional medical opinions about whether he needs surgery, though the 49ers are recommending he has it, the source told Schefter.

The injury is expected to sideline Purdy for six months regardless of his decision on surgery, the source said.

The injury happened on the Niners’ sixth offensive snap in their 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. After the game, the Niners believed Purdy was dealing with a sprained UCL but wanted to see what MRI results Monday morning turned up before offering a diagnosis.

“My arm felt like it stretched out,” Purdy said after the loss. “I felt really just like a lot of shocks all over from my elbow down to my wrist, front and back. Just pain really, all over.”

The decision regarding surgery for a torn UCL typically depends on several factors: the degree of the tear and whether it is complete, the presence of instability at the elbow and functionality (which, for a thrower, translates to whether he can throw effectively), according to ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell. While regular daily activities might not require an intact UCL, a thrower requires stability at the elbow in order to not only throw effectively but do so repeatedly.

If UCL surgery is needed, it becomes a question of whether the athlete requires a full UCL reconstruction with a tendon graft, otherwise known as Tommy John surgery, or whether a surgical repair of the damaged ligament will suffice. The health of the ligament itself, the…