Chris Canty has strong opinions on the 49ers potentially paying quarterback Brock Purdy next offseason.
Canty was asked if he would give Purdy a lucrative new contract.
“Not this offseason, I wouldn’t,” Canty said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday. “I need to see more from Brock Purdy and it’s not an instance where I don’t think he’s capable. It’s just that I haven’t seen him elevate the play of everyone around him. In a lot of ways, Brock Purdy has been like a mirror reflecting the talent that’s around him.
“And when he doesn’t have Trent Williams in the lineup, when he doesn’t have Christian McCaffrey, when he doesn’t have Deebo Samuel, when he doesn’t have George Kittle, when he doesn’t have Brandon Aiyuk, you’re getting a different version of Brock Purdy.”
Without a full arsenal of offensive weapons, Purdy has regressed this season. In Canty's eyes, the drop-off is alarming for the young quarterback.
“In the 27 games where he’s had Christian McCaffrey in the backfield, Brock Purdy’s got 47 touchdowns to 16 interceptions with a 109 [quarterback] rating,” Canty said. “In the nine games where Christian McCaffrey was out, he’s got a losing record, 10 touchdowns to 7 interceptions and a 93 rating.
“So, I am looking at the situation the 49ers are in now given where a lot of the core of this team is headed from an age [and] contract [situation]. And I need to be able to have more proof of concept that Brock Purdy can be a force multiplier rather than a passenger in a supremely talented roster.”
Purdy currently has one of the cheapest contracts for any quarterback in the league, which allowed San Francisco to keep the rest of its superstar offense intact this season.
Given his impressive performance since taking over as the starter, the 24-year-old is expected to command a much larger contract. With limited cap space, the 49ers will have to make tough roster decisions if they choose to extend Purdy in line with other elite QBs.
Given the alarming amount of injuries San Francisco has sustained this season on both offense and defense, placing the blame on Purdy seems unfair. Still, breaking the bank for someone still developing would bring its own risks.
