The San Francisco 49ers, one could argue, got unbelievably lucky when they selected quarterback Brock Purdy with the very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Going into the season, they had former number three overall pick Trey Lance as their starting quarterback with Jimmy Garoppolo, whom they signed in free agency prior to the 2017 NFL season.
Purdy, at best, was competing for the third quarterback role, a job which he won. No one, however, could have predicted what happened next.
Brock Purdy Emerged as the San Francisco 49ers Next Starting Quarterback
Lance suffered a gruesome injury early in the season, leading to Garoppolo taking over as the starting quarterback again. However, Garoppolo himself got hurt with five games left in the 2022 season. This meant that Purdy would be taking over as the 49ers’ starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
He turned out to be an immense success. San Francisco went 5-0 in Purdy’s starts to end the season while the former Mr. Irrelevant completed 67.1% of his passes for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 107.3 passer rating.
While Purdy himself got injured in the NFL Playoffs, it was clear that he was the quarterback that San Francisco needed going forward. Lance was traded to the Dallas Cowboys and Garoppolo allowed to leave in free agency.
In 2023, Purdy established himself as one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy Was One of the Best Quarterbacks in the NFL in 2023
Last season, Purdy played as well as everyone hoped that he would. He completed 69.4% of his passes for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He also led the NFL in touchdown percentage (7.0%), yards per attempt (9.6), yards per completion (13.9), passer rating (113.0), and QBR (72.8).
Purdy was also named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, came in sixth in Offensive Player of the Year voting, and fourth in NFL MVP voting.
Most importantly, the 49ers enjoyed enormous team success with him under center. They defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game and appeared in the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons.
In their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, Purdy completed 23 of his 38 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown.
NFL Analyst Nick Wright Has a Stearn Warning for San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Brock Purdy
As the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy is currently playing on a rookie contract that pays him less than $1 million per season. Needless to say, the 49ers are getting quite the bargain by having him as their starting quarterback because he is playing at a level that equals or surpasses those of $50 million quarterbacks.
2024 will be Purdy’s third season in the NFL, and rookie contracts run for four years. This means that he will be eligible for an extension very soon and, based on his level of play and the current market for quarterbacks, it is sure to be a very rich one.
However, NFL analyst Nick Wright offered Purdy a stern warning regarding how quickly his coach, Kyle Shanahan, can fall out of love with his starting quarterback:
“If Brock Purdy has the year he had last year, he’ll be the highest paid QB in the league temporarily. … But if he has a bad year, Kyle Shanahan falls in and out of love with QBs very quickly.”
— @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/8aXCCr4Dt3
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 31, 2024
“If Brock Purdy has the year he had last year, he’ll be the highest paid QB in the league temporarily,” Wright said. “But if he has a bad year, Kyle Shanahan falls in and out of love with QBs very quickly.”
For what it is worth, Wright has been a constant doubter of Purdy since he took over as San Francisco’s starting quarterback. He may be hoping for the third-year player to fail so that he is proven right in his criticism.
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