Timeline for return TBD

Coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged Tuesday that there is not yet a precise timeline for Purdy's return following the quarterback's March 10 procedure to repair his right elbow, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

With that in mind, Shanahan indicated that the 49ers should have a better idea of where Purdy stands in his recovery once he's about 12 weeks removed from surgery, noting Tuesday "we'll see at three months if he'll be ready for camp, or if not, then perhaps we say it's gonna go slow. It might be Week 1 and, at the latest, Week 4. It's just all estimations, and we'll see what happens." As long as Purdy is sidelined or limited, 2021 first-rounder Trey Lance (ankle) and free-agent addition Sam Darnold will have an opportunity to log added practice reps, but Nick Wagoner of ESPN relayed Monday that Purdy is viewed as the current front-runner to be the team's starting signal-caller when healthy -- at least according to GM John Lynch.