49ers QB Brock Purdy Exits, Returns After Big Hit

The San Francisco 49ers nearly saw Brock Purdy depart for good after a questionable hit.

ARIZONA -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy briefly left action after taking a big blow to his upper body. We were informed Purdy suffered a left shoulder stinger.

With 4:05 left in the first half, Cardinals LB Dennis Gardeck hit Purdy high after he dumped the ball off, which left Purdy on the ground.

Damn, hope Brock Purdy is okay after taking this big hitpic.twitter.com/3HbY9mrS6t

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 17, 2023

A very pro-49ers fan base here at State Farm Stadium chanted his name while he was down. He quickly got up to a massive applause and went straight to the blue medical tent. 

Gardeck was called for roughing the passer, which gave San Francisco 15 more yards and placed them at the AZ 38. 

Purdy left after going 6-8 for 53 yards and one touchdown, which came on the opening drive to Deebo Samuel. Sam Darnold briefly replaced Purdy for a few plays before the Iowa State product returned. 

Purdy has made a strong case to be the league's MVP after leading San Francisco to a league-best 10-3 record. Heading into Week 15, Purdy's passer rating of 116.9 led the league (for starting quarterbacks) and so too does his completion percentage of 70.2% and 9.9 yards per attempt among other categories.

The Cardinals spoke very highly of Purdy heading into Sunday:

"So many times, there’s so many variables that go into a guy when they get drafted in hitting their ceiling or playing above their ceiling at all positions. There’s a lot of variables that go into that. The team, the system, the scheme, who’s their strength coach, who’s their position coach, what’s the coordinator like, who’s in front of them and who’s in the room with them," Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. 

"There’s a lot of variables. That’s why a lot of guys hit, and a lot of guys miss. There’s no perfect science to it, but I think they’ve done a really good job and even throughout this year, having watched him throughout this year, I think he improves every game. You see him do some things that he didn’t do last year and he’s a really good player.”