Arik Armstead Sends Bold Message on 49ers QB Brock Purdy

Detractors say Brock Purdy is a system quarterback, but his current and former teammates beg to differ.

Arik Armstead, the now-former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman, came to Purdy’s defense on FS1’s “First Things First” by saying he changed the Niners offense.

Purdy, who of course was Mr. Irrelevant as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, recently signed a huge five-year, $265 million contract to stay in Northern California. Critics cite his inconsistent 2024 season where despite finishing 10th in the NFL in passing yards, he had just 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Over his three-season NFL career, Purdy is 23-13 with a 64/27 touchdown-to-interception rate. The 2024 season was his first season where the Niners did not make the playoffs, and they reached Super Bowl LVIII before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime in 2023-24.

What Did Arik Armstead Say To Defend Him?

There are those who believe any quick-thinking, accurate quarterback could play quarterback in Kyle Shanahan’s system especially with the 49ers’ vast array of star-caliber weapons like Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle — plus Deebo Samuel previously.

But according to Armstead, now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Purdy’s insertion into the Niners offense changed the game, especially with the way Jimmy Garoppolo had previously played.

“I talked to a lot of the receivers at the time — Aiyuk, Deebo — [and asked] ‘what’s the difference?’ [with Purdy],” Armstead said on “FS1” recently. “The major difference how Brock changed our team was the receivers felt like they could get the ball on any play. It switched from ‘I’m out of the progression, I’m just doing a run-off route’ to ‘I better run my best route regardless of the play because Purdy may just throw it to me.’

“The receivers loved that, and you could see how our offense just took off.”

“First Things” co-host Nick Wright has been an avid naysayer of Purdy’s success and referenced McCaffrey as the missing link to their offense. But even though Armstead acknowledged McCaffrey’s contributions, he also noted that Purdy’s excellence maximizes the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year’s skill set.

“I felt like in 2023, that was the best offense we had in my entire tenure,” Armstead said. “Of course [McCaffrey] was a big part of that in the running game, but Purdy’s ability to open up the offense and make uncharacteristic, off-schedule plays … we hadn’t had that the previous year.”

What Can Brock Purdy Do In 2025?

The Niners had a horrible regression year in 2024, especially with Purdy’s potential contract dominating the conversation.

But with Purdy and Aiyuk locked in, and the latter healthy after he shredded his knee against the Chiefs last season, San Francisco is a trendy pick to go from worst to first in the NFC West — especially if McCaffrey can rebound from missing all but four games due to injury last year.

Though Purdy put up far from prolific numbers in 2024, the Niners offense should again be one of the league’s best, even with Samuel traded to the Washington Commanders. San Francisco ranked 13th in points per game (22.9) and fourth in yards per game (376.3) despite its 6-11 record.