49ers QB Brock Purdy is no longer Mr. Irrelevant: New contract comes with pressure to lead, win

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In April of 2021, the San Francisco 49ers traded up to prime backmost Trey Lance No. 3 wide successful the NFL draft. Lance was viewed arsenic their aboriginal franchise signal-caller for the years to come.

The 49ers' extremity was to person a backmost connected a rookie declaration portion utilizing resources to physique a ascendant roster astir the QB. The anticipation was that the pieces would adhd up to a Super Bowl championship.

As it turned out, the Niners did payment from a rookie backmost declaration window. But it was Brock Purdy -- not Lance -- who became the team's starter a twelvemonth aboriginal successful 2022 and was playing for the comparatively meager wages associated with being the past prime (Mr. Irrelevant) successful the 2022 draft. Purdy led the 49ers to 2 NFC Championship Game appearances, including 1 win, but the squad failed to triumph their sixth Lombardi Trophy successful Super Bowl LVIII.

"We made him the past prime of the draught and it's served america well," wide manager John Lynch said.

Now, Purdy's rookie declaration (that paid him an mean of $853,333 per season) has ended, arsenic helium enactment pen to insubstantial connected a five-year, $265 cardinal contract that includes $181 cardinal successful guarantees that ties him to the squad until aft the 2030 season. That makes Purdy the highest-paid subordinate successful franchise past -- meaning San Francisco has reached the expiration day connected the cheap-quarterback-plus-expensive-roster formula.

While Purdy's aboriginal declaration headdress numbers fig to stay manageable, the Niners -- for amended oregon worse -- are present successful Purdy's hands. The days of Purdy being praised arsenic 1 of the champion bargains successful sports are done and it's up to him to present astatine a level commensurate with being the seventh highest-paid backmost successful the NFL (on a per twelvemonth basis).

Despite an avalanche of offseason roster changes aft a 6-11 season, there's nary amended clip for Purdy to statesman delivering connected that than 2025. The 49ers volition participate adjacent play with the easiest docket successful the league, astatine slightest based connected their opponents' results from 2024.

If things spell according to plan, Purdy should invited backmost moving backmost Christian McCaffrey (foot, knee), near tackle Trent Williams (foot) and receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) from injuries that outgo them ample chunks of past season. George Kittle besides remains 1 of the league's premiere choky ends and conscionable signed a four-year declaration extension that should guarantee helium remains 1 of Purdy's favourite targets for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps different quality successful the Super Bowl -- which is acceptable to beryllium played connected the Niners' location writer astatine Levi's Stadium -- is asking excessively overmuch fixed the team's galore offseason departures but if Purdy tin instrumentality person to 2023 form, it would connection reassurance that he's the backmost the squad has been anxious to manus the keys to for the amended portion of the past 2 decades.

Purdy indispensable beryllium helium is, arsenic proprietor Jed York called him astatine the league meetings successful March, 1 of the 10 champion quarterbacks successful the league. That assertion tin surely beryllium backed up by the numbers, if not the oculus test.

Since taking implicit arsenic the Niners' starter successful Week 13 of 2022, Purdy is 4th among each quarterbacks successful QBR (70.2), 3rd successful passing yards (9,452), archetypal successful yards per effort (8.9) and seventh successful touchdown passes (64).

"I deliberation he's great," York said. "Especially erstwhile you harvester him with Kyle and you harvester him with what we person and he's a heck of a quarterback. And we privation him to beryllium present for a long, agelong time."

Even earlier Purdy signed his caller mega-deal, the effects of the declaration were already being felt successful San Francisco. The Niners went done a important roster purge successful the offseason, saying goodbye to cardinal escaped agents specified arsenic cornerback Charvarius Ward, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, information Talanoa Hufanga and defender Aaron Banks. They besides released starting antiaircraft tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins arsenic good arsenic extremity Leonard Floyd and traded distant wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. and moving backmost Jordan Mason.

The effect of that exodus is astir $81 cardinal dormant wealth connected the wage cap, easy the astir successful the NFL successful 2025, and a roster that volition trust heavy connected 11 drafted rookies to capable the holes near down aft limiting their escaped cause buying to the bargain bin.

Neither York nor Lynch nor manager Kyle Shanahan shied distant from the world that overmuch of their offseason absorption was clearing the decks connected the roster to marque country for Purdy's deal. Teammates specified arsenic Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner, Williams and McCaffrey person fixed Purdy repeated votes of assurance and voiced their support of Purdy's eventual payday.

The 49ers are betting large that not lone tin Purdy instrumentality to astatine oregon adjacent the accumulation helium provided successful 2022 and 2023 but that helium tin besides proceed to turn arsenic a subordinate adjacent if his supporting formed is diminished.

Purdy's numbers did autumn disconnected successful 2024 erstwhile helium was without McCaffrey, Aiyuk and Williams for overmuch of the twelvemonth with different cardinal starters besides missing games present and there.

During that trying season, Purdy continued to conflict successful inclement upwind portion his 1.7 touchdown-to-interception ratio ranked 23rd successful the NFL and dropped from the 2.8 helium had successful 2023. He besides continued to person issues authoring late-game comebacks. He had a 54.6 QBR (20th successful the NFL) erstwhile trailing successful the 4th fourth with 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

Despite those issues, Purdy inactive finished with a 67.9 QBR, which ranked seventh successful the NFL, and continued to turn arsenic a scrambler with a career-high 323 yards and 5 touchdowns.

That level of accumulation was much than capable for the Niners to judge successful Purdy. For each the articulator work paid to that content successful Purdy the past 3 years, the eventual litmus trial was ever going to travel erstwhile it was clip for him to negociate an extension.

"You request to beryllium definite connected that," Shanahan said. "If you wage a backmost and if that's not who you're definite astir past it's not going to beryllium precise amusive aft that."

The inherent accusation successful Purdy's caller woody is that the onus present falls connected him to beryllium the benignant of unit multiplier who tin rise the accumulation of those astir him and usher successful a caller epoch of 49ers shot with him astatine the forefront.