Brock Purdy was not supposed to play his rookie season. As the final pick in the 2022 draft, he was buried deep on the 49ers’ depth chart.
Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, and Jimmy Garoppolo, who the 49ers had acquired for a 2018 second-round pick, began the season ahead of Purdy. Lance, though, fractured his ankle in Week 2.
That’s when Purdy was confident his opportunity would come sooner than later.
“I’m not going to lie. During camp and stuff, all the competitions and stuff were going on, and Trey was the guy, but like with Nate Sudfeld and I are competing,” Purdy said on the Built 4 More podcast. “I knew that I could like rip the ball, and going up against like some dudes I watched growing up on the practice field and then in preseason games. So, that sort of gave me some confidence, like, ‘OK, I can do this thing. I don’t know how it’s going to go down, because there’s guys in front of me with Trey Lance and then later Jimmy Garoppolo.
“Once Jimmy became the starter, I was like, ‘I might get some playing time this year, man. I just don’t know when.’”
Garoppolo fractured his foot in Week 13 and Purdy led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game. It’s been Purdy’s job since.
“My whole story has been just being overlooked, not good enough,” Purdy said on the podcast, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “And for me, deep down inside, I’m like, ‘I know I can play and compete at this level, this level, this level.’ And so, high school, it was the case. And then I became a starter, and we went to the state championship, all that. But I got recruited very late.
“And then all of a sudden, I barely get an offer at the end, and I go to Iowa State. And then I was the third-string guy going into that. Overlooked. And then I became the starter halfway through that season, and then for four more years. And then I got drafted last. So, all these people tell me that you’re not going to be good enough, but deep down inside, this whole time, I’m like, ‘Just wait until I get an opportunity to compete.”
Purdy did not discuss his contract situation on the podcast. He is eligible for a contract extension after making $2.637 million his first three seasons combined.
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