The San Francisco 49ers made moves to build the defense in the NFL Draft, but the biggest question remains on the other side of the ball.
As 49ers insider and ESPN reporter Nick Wagoner sees it, the clock is ticking for the team to get a contract extension done for quarterback Brock Purdy. The fourth-year quarterback is at the tail end of his rookie contract amid a historic rise from Mr. Irrelevant to Super Bowl starter.
“This is the question that has loomed all offseason. But it seems, at least for now, that a resolution might be coming relatively soon,” Wagoner wrote on Monday. “Niners GM John Lynch generally prefers not to give incremental updates during contract negotiations, which is why it was notable when he said last week that there have been ‘substantive talks’ and that things are ‘going in a good direction.'”
“With the draft now over, it wouldn’t be a surprise if something gets done by the time the Niners begin OTAs near the end of May,” Wagoner concluded.
In three seasons, Purdy has a 67.5% completion rate amid 9,518 yards passing and 64 touchdowns. He has a four-year, $3.73 million rookie deal, and Spotrac projects his market value at $59.7 million annually.
NFL Insider: ‘I Could See a Deal Getting Done’
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport expressed a promising outlook for Purdy and the 49ers to get a deal done soon. Purdy notably joined the team for the offseason program ahead of the draft.
“I don’t want to say that they’re close, but they’re at least at a close enough point where you say, ‘All right, I could see a deal getting done at some point,'” Rapoport said during “The Rich Eisen Show” on April 24. “And so he shows up.”
“When a quarterback holds out, it’s like a whole different thing, so it’s just easier for all of us when he shows up, and I think that was the right move,” Rapoport added. “But I do believe a deal will get done.”
Rapoport also didn’t dismiss the possibility of Purdy’s deal surpassing the Spotrac projection of $59.7 million annually. Only Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys makes that much annually.
“You never know, because you never know what a deal looks like, but I would be surprised,” Rapoport acknowledged.
New 49ers QB Kurtis Rourke ‘Excited to Learn From’ Brock Purdy
San Francisco added quarterback depth during the draft with former Indiana standout Kurtis Rourke in the seventh round, and he can very much relate to Purdy, who also went in the seventh round three years earlier.
“I’m very honored. Yeah, definitely being able to come in a system where they took Brock a couple years ago,” Rourke told reporters on April 26. “I’m really excited, excited to learn from him, excited to learn from the coaching staff.”
“They developed him into one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Rourke added. “And so I’m excited to be a part of that, be in the organization and follow that path as well.”
The 49ers already have a deep quarterback room with Purdy, Mac Jones, and Tanner Mordecai. It could benefit Rourke as he looks to recover from an ACL tear, which he played through at Indiana. However, he doesn’t want to settle on it being a redshirt season.
“We’ll see how things go. My mindset has always been get back as soon as I can and as soon as I can do anything, then I’m going to do it. That’s the way I was in the first time around and that’s the mindset I have this time. So definitely want to be a part of the 49ers plan, but again, going to be pushing for as early as possible.”
