The 49ers are in such a difficult position.
They like Brock Purdy and want to keep him around, but they know he's not a top-tier quarterback. At best, he's second tier even though he went to the Super Bowl and was an MVP candidate in 2023.
If Purdy truly were a top-tier quarterback, teams would want to trade for him. But no teams have called the 49ers about him according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini.
Just a month ago, the Raiders tried to trade for Matthew Stafford before he got his extension with the Rams because Stafford is elite and the Rams were taking their time to extend him. Purdy is 12 years younger than Stafford, the 49ers are taking even longer to extend him, and yet no other team is interested in him. They couldn't trade Purdy if they wanted to.
Here's why.
Purdy is a product of his situation. He's a good player, but he might not be a winner on another team. He wasn't even a winner last season on the 49ers -- he went 6-9 and got injured twice. Durability is a question mark for him.
Unless a team has a coach like Kyle Shanahan and a running back like Christian McCaffrey, why would anyone trade for Purdy and expect him to lead them to the playoffs? He couldn't even lead George Kittle, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner to the playoffs last season, and lots of teams don't have players who are as good as those three.
Now the 49ers feel pressure to pay Purdy more than he's truly worth. And when the 49ers fork over all that cash, the rest of the league will laugh and rejoice.
