In the months leading up to the San Francisco 49ers signing quarterback Brock Purdy to a five-year, $265M contract extension that included $181M in guarantees and a no-trade clause, some wondered if general manager John Lynch and/or head coach Kyle Shanahan were having second thoughts about locking Purdy down via a lucrative deal.
During a recent conversation with Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, Purdy spoke about how he essentially learned at the end of the 2024 season that he had nothing to worry about regarding his long-term future with the club.
"For me, this was all sort of new, just in terms of not making (the) playoffs last year," Purdy explained. "All I knew was making it to NFC Championship Games, to the Super Bowl, and big moments, big games, stuff like that. So when we didn’t make the playoffs, I was, like, 'All right, what does this look like as a quarterback and the pressure of the offseason and everything, and my job. How does that all look or feel?' But to hear Kyle tell me and John say that no, I’m their guy and they’re gonna continue to ride with me and believe in me. ...They’ve told me time and time again that I’m their guy and we’re gonna get this thing right together."
Some speculated back in March, when Purdy was in the early days of the final year of his inexpensive rookie contract, that the 49ers could have some interest in having Aaron Rodgers serve as their starter for 2025. Shanahan wanted to bring Rodgers to San Francisco back in early 2021, but the future Hall of Famer ultimately stayed with the Green Bay Packers that offseason.
That said, there's no indication that either Shanahan or Lynch wanted anybody but Purdy atop the depth chart for the foreseeable future. The final pick of the 2022 draft has started two conference championship games and a Super Bowl during his San Francisco tenure, and he's a one-time regular-season Most Valuable Player Award finalist.
Purdy knows that he needs to continue to improve as a player and as an offensive CEO now that he's being paid like a franchise quarterback.
"I feel like I understand what it takes to win here," Purdy added during his chat with Kawakami. "And I have to do what I can and lean on my expertise and my leadership that I’ve had in the last three years and continue to grow, and push guys, man, and love on guys, show them that, 'Hey, you can fail or this or that, but let’s get better, let’s learn from it.' Be that kind of voice. I don’t think the dollar amount should change how my process is."
For a piece published on June 5, ESPN's Aaron Schatz ranked a 49ers team that finished this past season at 6-11 as the most-likely club to go from worst-to-first during the upcoming campaign with Purdy leading the charge.
"The 49ers will return a ton of key players from injuries this season, including running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams," Schatz wrote.
