Brock Purdy knew he'd have a chance to start his rookie year after Jimmy Garoppolo reclaimed QB1 duties.
At some point during training camp leading into the San Francisco 49ers' 2022 campaign, head coach Kyle Shanahan came to the conclusion then-rookie Brock Purdy was his team's best quarterback.
That sentiment created problems, though, because the Niners had aggressively traded up for quarterback Trey Lance the year prior, and they had previously paid big money to the signal-caller Lance was intent upon replacing, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Now, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft was outshining both of them.
Of course, San Francisco had to develop the investment in Lance, which effectively made the No. 3 overall pick from 2021 the de facto starter entering that season, while Garoppolo and Purdy were QBs 2 and 3 on the depth chart, respectively. But everything changed in Week 2 when Lance suffered a season-ending broken ankle, propping Jimmy G back into his previously lost starting job and elevating Purdy to No. 2.
However, as Purdy revealed recently, the rookie knew his chance had arrived.
Brock Purdy knew Jimmy Garoppolo's injury history would open door to starting
Speaking on the Built 4 More Podcast, Purdy described the moment when he first knew he'd have a chance to start that rookie season.
"Once Jimmy became the starter (in 2022), I was like 'I might get some playing time this year. I just don’t know when,'" Purdy said.
You can check out an abbreviated clip here or listen to the full pod below:
Purdy, of course, knew the Niners drafted Lance to replace Garoppolo, namely because of the latter's notable injury history. Sure enough, when Jimmy G went down with what turned into a season-ending ankle injury late in the year, the final pick of the draft got his chance.
And Purdy hasn't looked back.
San Francisco let Garoppolo walk in free agency the following offseason, then traded Lance at the conclusion of training camp in 2023.
While Purdy probably wasn't tossing true shade in Garoppolo's way with his comments, it's hard to deny that he had some real perspective on what was likely to happen.
It did, ultimately.
