San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was all smiles on Friday afternoon as he spoke with reporters following one of the team's longest training camp practices. Just a week earlier, Purdy and his wife, Jenna, became first-time parents, welcoming a baby girl into their lives.
"That was her due date, which was crazy," Purdy said. "I had no idea [it would happen that day]. Every single morning, I'd wake up as if I was going about my day in football, and I was just waiting for Jenna to shoot a text over to our PR people, and they would come and grab me."
On the morning of Friday, July 25, Purdy knew this day was different.
"I woke up that morning and my wife had her doula over at the house, and they were like, 'No, this baby's coming today,'" Purdy continued. "I was like, 'All right.'"
So Purdy called head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi to inform them that he would not be at work that day.
"They said, 'Enjoy it and be there for her,'" Purdy said. "Then, sure enough, our baby came that day."
Purdy says there's no way to fully describe how fatherhood has changed him, but he just knows that coming home from work has never been more enjoyable because he gets to hold his baby girl.
"There's nothing better. No gift can compare," Purdy said. "And seeing Jenna, and how she's been awesome as a mom, just all of it, all together, it's so good."
This offseason has been life-changing for Purdy beyond fatherhood. In May, he signed a five-year, $265 million contract extension, securing a lifetime—or lifetimes—of financial stability for his growing family.
"We're extremely thankful, just having a baby, our family growing, to be able to knock out the contract and everything," Purdy said. "It's been just a huge blessing all around. But nothing compares to having a baby and being married. That's first and foremost. So, we're just extremely excited and our hearts are so big right now."
Purdy isn't the only new father on the team
Purdy isn't alone when it comes to welcoming a new family member. Running back Christian McCaffrey and his wife, Olivia Culpo, also had a baby girl last month. The quarterback admits the two have discussed the possibility of some very special moments in the future.
"Hopefully we'll be together for a while, and have the kids be out on the field pre-game and stuff," Purdy said. "We always talk about it and joke around, but I think it could be something that could be really cool.
"Christian and I have talked about it in the past, a couple of years ago even—it'd be sweet to have kids remember us playing in the NFL, and go to work with dad, and this is our work. It's pretty cool. Hopefully, we can all have our kids grow up together."
Purdy added, "A bunch of other guys have had kids recently in the past couple of years—[LB] Fred [Warner] and [C] Jake Brendel. So, it's been cool to just sort of pick everybody's brain. It's been awesome."
Bosa's practice pressure helps Purdy prepare
Friday's practice also highlighted Nick Bosa's dominance, as the star pass rusher notched five would-be sacks during team drills, three of which came on one drive alone. Purdy admits that having to deal with Bosa in practice helps sharpen his game ahead of the season.
"Yeah, it's huge," Purdy declared. "Obviously, he'll just tap me on the shoulder or whatever to tell me that he was there. But it's good getting that kind of pass rush. It's real. If you're at practice, dropping back, and you're not getting touched or anything, and you're going through your progressions all perfectly, to me, it can be scary, because once you get into the game, it's 11-on-11, it's going fast, you've got blitzes, you've got different stunts by the D-line, and they're up in your face.
"So, to have him every single rep, and feeling his presence 24/7, honestly, it's great work for all of us, myself included. Throwing with a push in the pocket, and having to have different arm angles around him, it's all real. So, for him to give us a look like that, realistically, like every single play that he is in, it's really good.
"I appreciate him for that, but obviously, he's getting really good work, and I want him to be a monster come [the] season for our team. He's doing just that."
When asked if he's ever told Bosa to ease up, Purdy smiled and said, "Heck no. No, I don't tell him anything. I tell him, 'I appreciate you working and pushing this.' We need it."
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