George Kittle Responds to Narrative Brock Purdy Didn't Deserve Huge 49ers Extension

The San Francisco 49ers signed quarterback Brock Purdy to a $265 million extension last month, but not everyone felt Purdy was worth the contract that will now pay him $53 million per year. The 49ers gave Purdy the seventh-largest contract in the league and around the going rate for quarterbacks, but there were some that felt this was too much for him.

There are a number of reasons some don't feel that Purdy merits this high of a deal. He doesn't necessarily have the arm talent of a Josh Allen or Matthew Stafford, or the running ability like Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts. Though Purdy has seen success with San Francisco, he has benefitted from an All-Pro supporting cast and an offensive mastermind in head coach Kyle Shanahan. Additionally, Purdy and the 49ers are coming off a down year in which they went 6-11.

49ers tight end George Kittle refuted the narrative that Purdy isn't worth his new extension, citing Purdy's winning record with the 49ers. Kittle also debunked the idea that Purdy is simply a "checkdown merchant."

"I would say, I don't know what his winning percentage is, but when you win a lot of games and then two years you go to the NFC championship or better, I think that's decent," Kittle said during a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. "One of my favorite things about Purdy is that everyone calls him the checkdown merchant, and then the last two years he's had the least amount of checkdowns in the NFL as a starting quarterback. So I think he's doing pretty well."

The stats support Kittle's points. The 49ers are 23-14 in regular season games Purdy that starts. As far as the checkdown label, Purdy has ranked top-three in yards per attempt and No. 1 in completed air yards per pass attempt over each of the last two seasons. In 2024, Next Gen Stats ranked Purdy top-10 in aggressiveness percentage, which finds how often quarterbacks throw into tight windows.

Purdy does not do this alone of course. Shanahan is great at setting up yards after the catch and scheming pass-catchers open on down the field. Purdy has had a great stable of receivers to throw to over his three years with San Francisco. Still, Purdy did show a greater ability to extend the play or make off-schedule plays in 2024. He wasn't perfect, but was also not just a product of the scheme on every single play.

Ultimately, outside opinions on Purdy don't matter much. From the front office to the coaching staff, current team, and even 49ers legends like Jerry Rice and Joe Montana, the entire organization has been consistent in their belief that Purdy is their quarterback for the long haul. He might not have the ceiling of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he is more than capable of helping them win.