49ers' Brock Purdy echoes Kyle Shanahan's ominous message for rest of the league with latest comments
Brock Purdy's 2023 season was impressive on so many fronts. But arguably the most remarkable aspect of a campaign in which he broke the San Francisco 49ers' franchise record for single-season passing yardage and helped them to the brink of Super Bowl glory was that it came after he spent most of the offseason recovering […]
Brock Purdy's 2023 season was impressive on so many fronts.
But arguably the most remarkable aspect of a campaign in which he broke the San Francisco 49ers' franchise record for single-season passing yardage and helped them to the brink of Super Bowl glory was that it came after he spent most of the offseason recovering from surgery.
Purdy's first full season as a starter followed surgery on the torn elbow ligament he suffered in the NFC Championship Game in the playoffs for the 2022 campaign.
The time spent rehabbing did not have an adverse impact on Purdy's development, however, as he continued a stunning ascent, finishing fourth in the MVP voting after leading the NFL in passer rating, QBR and every yards per attempt metric.
But the fact he did not have a proper offseason last year presented Purdy with a chance for growth by getting one this year, and he believes he has grasped that opportunity.
Speaking at the 49ers' 'State of the Franchise' event, Purdy delivered an ominous message for the rest of the NFL.
"We got all the way to the end. We're right there and weren't able to finish it," Purdy said. "So for me, I had that taste in my mouth, and then get back into the gym, start slowly, working into it.
"And then here, in OTAs, getting with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and going over all the games that we played in, every play, and going over situational football and stuff, and taking that and actually going out on the field and running things and repping things, and throwing to the receivers. Last year, I didn't have that, so now that I'm able to attack those kinds of things, I feel like I've gotten better."
Purdy reaching even higher levels in 2024 would be terrible news for the 49ers' NFC rivals looking to dethrone a team still regarded as having the best roster in the league.
And Purdy's comments echo similar sentiments expressed by his head coach.
Shanahan said of Purdy last month: "He is definitely ahead of where he was last year this time, but I mean it was just real cool being able to go through a whole year of cutups just like we did last year and just starting in Phase 1.
"The command he had of going out there with the drills and everything and really trying to apply the stuff we had just been watching in the meeting rooms, that really happened all off our 2023 tape. Last year he had to do it and then it would just be frustrating for him because he couldn’t really go work on it.
"He had to just visualize and think about it and had to wait for that opportunity in training camp. This year right away it’s been awesome for him to lead us through the whole offseason, just drill wise and everything. It’s he’s been great to have for a first full offseason.”
The league has a lot of tape on Purdy to study in their efforts to slow down what was by far the best offense in the league last year.
While they will be looking for weaknesses to exploit, Purdy is already finding ways to improve through his own time going over the film with Shanahan and putting what they learned into practice.
It's difficult to believe the 49ers' offense could become even more difficult to stop, but Purdy and Shanahan's comments suggest that is going to be the case in 2024.
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It shouldn’t be too difficult.
