If there is any doubt that opinions around the NFL are split on just how good 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy really is. look no further than the team’s balance sheet. You’ll notice that Purdy, for now, remains on the books in 2025, the fourth year of his contract, at $5.3 million. In a league in which $50 million annually to sling passes is the going rate, Purdy is an obvious bargain.
He won’t be for long, of course. The 49ers will need to bequeath Purdy a new contract, as there is virtually no chance he plays on the $5.3 million deal. But the fact that they have yet to do so is also an indication that the 49ers are not entirely confident that Purdy belongs among the league’s elite.
49ers Roster Took a Hit in 2024
Much of how you view Purdy depends on how you view last season, when he was robbed of the offense’s two top weapons, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey. Aiyuk was a contract holdout throughout training camp, was not himself when the season did start and tore his ACL after appearing in just seven games.
McCaffrey was also hurt, and played in just four games. The team’s stalwart left tackle, Trent Williams, played only 10.
So Purdy’s umbers, a sharp drop from 2023, were mundane–65.9% completion rate, 3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 96.1 rating. That drop-off could be the product of the fact that he was never all that good to begin with, that the 49ers’ stacked offense masked his flaws.
Or they could be viewed another way: Purdy actually played pretty well for a guy who saw three of the best players on the offense reduced to a fraction of their production.
Brock Purdy ‘Top 5’ in 2025
Former Pro Bowl lineman and three-time Super Bowl champ Mark Schlereth, speaking on Fox Sports, is going with the latter. And he said Purdy can be expected to prove it in 2025.
“Brock Purdy (will) prove he’s a top-5 quarterback,” Schlereth said last week (via Niners Nation). “Mark it down. When you look at Brock Purdy, one, from the neck up, decision-making, he gets through progressions like none other. And then yards per attempt. I don’t even know what that means but he’s first in that. That means it’s good. Nerds love that stuff. Means you throw the ball deep all the time. Passer rating, he’s second in the NFL since he came into the National Football League. Yards, third, completion percentage, fifth.
“I mean, he is unbelievable. And everyone just wants to point to the fact that, ‘Oh, they have so many weapons. They’re so good.’ He proves that it’s a lot about Brock Purdy and not as much about all the weapons around him, because they got rid of guys, they got rid of Deebo [Samuel]. They got guys that are coming off of injury. Brock Purdy proves that he’s a top quarterback.”
