Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
When
Brock Purdy arrived at the San Francisco 49ers after being selected with the last overall pick in the draft, he knew nothing would come easy. He was on an NFL roster but would need to fight to stick around. Ahead of him were
Trey Lance and Nate Sudfeld. The 49ers gave the latter a fully-guaranteed $2 million, indicating he had a leg-up on the backup quarterback job.
Even
Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't entirely out of the picture. The veteran quarterback wasn't around, though, as he recovered from shoulder surgery and his future with the team remained murky.
"I didn't look too far ahead when I first got drafted," Purdy said Tuesday morning on KNBR. "I saw the situation in the quarterback room, and for me, it was,
How can I go and make an impression to the coaches and my teammates and everything? And I just kept my head down and grinding and let everything fall into place."
Purdy made an impression. Coaches loved him so much that they sacrificed Sudfeld and kept Purdy on the 53-man roster, even after deciding to keep Garoppolo around. The 49ers didn't want to expose Purdy to waivers to try to get him on the practice squad.
That decision paid off. Lance went down in Week 2, and Garoppolo followed in Week 13, leaving Purdy as the starter for the remainder of the season. The rookie quarterback is showing the NFL world what his coaches saw in him early on.
"I'm obviously very grateful that I made the team, and here we are," Purdy said.
Watching him on the field, it's easy to forget that Purdy is a rookie. He has the poise and leadership of a seasoned veteran. And he is having a storybook start to his NFL career.
Still, the 23-year-old quarterback remembers what it was like when he first arrived on the team, seeing stars like
Deebo Samuel and
Nick Bosa, who he had grown to admire. He was in awe.
"I would say, right when I first got here, it was definitely like that," Purdy shared. "I'm like, man, Nick Bosa just reported back, and I saw how yoked he was, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh.' I'm a couple of lockers away from him. And then there's
George Kittle right there, and
Trent Williams, and even Jimmy, when Jimmy came back.
"I'm like, 'Man, this is crazy.' But over time, they're normal dudes. They're real dudes. They're just really good at what they do. They're really good football players."
Purdy knew that the talented locker room would only improve his play, and the quarterback was prepared to take advantage of the situation. The 49ers' roster was loaded on both sides of the ball.
"I would say, even going out on the field and throwing to
Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo, it makes you better," Purdy continued. "You have to elevate your game, so it's helped me out. But at the same time, I do take it in. You play against a guy like
Tom Brady or all these other stars on the other teams, it's cool to reflect, and take a moment, like, 'Man, I just played against that guy,' and it's pretty cool."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Purdy below.
Brock Purdy can begin throwing again sometime in June. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is expected to be ready to hit the field—practice or in-game—sometime in September.
Purdy is recovering from surgery to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury sustained in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He hasn't been seen since the surgery, with his last public appearance taking place In Arizona, during the week leading to the Super Bowl.
One fan spotted Purdy, though, getting a photo with the 49ers quarterback (h/t TheSFNiners). As expected, Purdy is wearing a massive brace on his throwing arm,
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch, speaking with reporters at the owners' meetings in Arizona on Monday morning, made it clear where Brock Purdy sits in the team's quarterback depth chart. Purdy, recovering from surgery on March 10, has earned the right to the top spot.
"I think Brock has earned the right with the way he played that he's probably the leader in the clubhouse at that," Lynch said. "I'll let [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] make those kind of decisions, but I know, when we talk, I think Brock's probably earned that right to be the guy. If we were to line up, he'd probably take that first snap."
Of course, Lynch clarified that all quarterbacks—Purdy, Trey Lance, and Sam Darnold—will compete for the 49ers' starting job. However,
49ers general manager John Lynch spoke to the 49ers beat writers at the NFL owners' meetings yesterday. Lynch discussed Purdy's health and whether he would be the starter when ready to play. He stated, "I think Brock has earned the right with the way he played that he's probably the leader in the clubhouse. Brock's earned that right to be that guy if we line up to take that first snap."
Not many would argue that Purdy shouldn't be the starting quarterback after his phenomenal season during his rookie year. Purdy finished the season with 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions, and completed 67.1 percent of his passes.
He was even more impressive in the playoffs with 569 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and completed 65.1 percent of his passes.
It could be six months. It could be eight months. The San Francisco 49ers don't have a clear picture right now regarding quarterback Brock Purdy's recovery timeline. They will have a better idea in June, though. That's when the second-year quarterback will begin throwing again and ramping up his workload for the remaining portion of his rehabilitation.
Purdy underwent surgery to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury suffered on January 29 in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"He won't be able to do anything on the field for—who knows?" head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Tuesday morning from the NFL owners'
