George Kittle has caught passes from a long list of quarterbacks since the San Francisco 49ers drafted him in 2017—names like Brian Hoyer, Nick Mullens, Jimmy Garoppolo, and now, Brock Purdy. But the All-Pro tight end hopes that Purdy is the last name on that list, especially after the 49ers recently signed the 25-year-old quarterback to a massive five-year, $265 million contract extension.
Kittle sat down with NBC Sports' Laura Britt on Wednesday during the 2025 Dwight Clark Legacy Series event and was asked about the next step in Purdy's development.
"One thing I've already seen from Brock this offseason, just being back around for all of [the offseason program] and stuff, is just his voice is heard significantly more in the building, which I love, whether he's breaking down the team, talking in the locker room. He's always kind, he's always nice to everybody, but he's just more vocal to everybody in team settings, which is huge.
"And people, when they hear the quarterback talk, your head kind of snaps. That's what you listen for because he's the face, the leader of the team. And so, when you have a guy like that, who's continually growing ... it's just awesome to see a young guy keep his feet in the ground, and then want to work hard, and want to make all the guys around him really good. So, that's one of the things I've just been happy with seeing."
Kittle believes having stability at quarterback bodes well for the team—and his own performance.
"I think, just the more that Brock is in this system, and Coach [Kyle] Shanahan can tailor the things that Brock likes," Kittle added, "and kind of shape our offense in that way, it's a lot easier to do that when you have a steady hand at quarterback, the guy who's going to be here for a while, so you can build the whole thing around him and make it easy on him, which then, in turn, makes it easy on me, which I like."
Don't dismiss the 49ers in 2025
The 49ers have faced their share of criticism this offseason, with media pundits pointing to roster turnover and the loss of key players like Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and Deebo Samuel. Some have speculated that another challenging season may be ahead for the Bay Area squad. Kittle acknowledges the loss of veteran leadership but is confident the front office has reloaded with promising young talent from the draft.
Offensively, Kittle points out that the only starters the team lost were Samuel and left guard Aaron Banks. With Purdy, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, and others returning, the 49ers' offense still boasts plenty of firepower.
The team also made some under-the-radar additions in free agency—moves Kittle believes could pay off.
"When you can bring in guys who are kind of like-minded to the culture that we've established, it kind of just allows you to keep that culture going and feed these new guys into it," Kittle said. "Yes, we're going to look different. I think we're going to look a little bit more different on defense and offense, but I think the way that we drafted, the free agents that we brought in, we have the opportunity to go out there and compete in a lot of football games."
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