The San Francisco 49ers have been impressed with their rookie quarterback, Brock Purdy. Fans have been impressed with the soon-to-be 23-year-old too. The final overall pick in this year's draft has helped guide the 49ers to wins over the last four games, improving the team's win streak to eight games.
"Brock's played well. Real well," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters via a conference call on Monday. "He was smart with the ball. There was a couple of situations that were tight, where there was an unblocked player, and the play was almost there. And I thought he just did a great job not doing anything stupid in some tough situations, also.
"He's shown than he's willing to let it rip at all times, and there was a couple of times in the game that he had an unblocked guy right to him, and he made a couple of great decisions just to take the sack. So I was real impressed with how Brock played."
Over the last two games, Purdy has been playing through oblique and rib injuries. You certainly couldn't tell by watching the quarterback's performances against the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders. Purdy's Pro Football Focus grades, reaching 79.7 this past Saturday, have improved with each game.
"Just talking to him the last two days, he got out healthy again," Shanahan noted. "I think that should continue healing up, and I think he should be even a little better this week with some more health."
The 49ers might have a tough decision to make during the offseason. Jimmy Garoppolo is scheduled to become a free agent and will likely play elsewhere in 2023. The team also invested a lot of draft capital last year to trade up to acquire Trey Lance, who entered this season as the starter before suffering an ankle injury during Week 2.
What happens next year if the 49ers keep winning and make a deep playoff run with Purdy at the helm of the offense? Is that something the Niners' coach is thinking about?
"No. I don't even know what year it is after this season's over," Shanahan jokingly responded. "I'm trying to think about how to get him ready for Wednesday (practice), man. That's a great question, but honestly, I don't look ahead like that. We've got a number of big games in front of us."