Purdy has ‘faith’ that 49ers’ rough 2024 season will make sense later originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Regardless of what you think about Brock Purdy, it’s hard to deny he isn’t a distinctive leader.
The 49ers are just days removed from the end of their disappointing 2024 NFL season and, in typical Purdy fashion, their star quarterback is deriving positives from the 6-11, playoff-less campaign.
After San Francisco tried and tried this season to no avail — over 18 weeks of navigating through rampant injuries, unexpected tragedies and inconsistent chemistry — Purdy is choosing to believe everything he and his team went through was for a reason. And that’s the best way to go about it.
“More than anything, I have faith and trust that we have the guys in this locker room right now to do what it takes to win and turn this thing around in the right direction,” Purdy told reporters Monday. “Yeah, it hasn’t been perfect, but for us to be able to go through this together, I think we’ll get to where we want at the end of the day and look back and be like, ‘We had to go through that because of x, y and z.’
“We don’t know for sure why, but we will one day.”
Purdy and the 49ers appear far removed from their 12-5 regular-season finish in 2023. You know, back when San Francisco ran through currently revered playoff-bound teams such as the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles in the regular- and postseason en route to a narrow Super Bowl LVIII overtime loss to the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs.
Today, the 49ers enter the offseason as the NFC West’s doormat. Still, Purdy, who missed his team’s season-finale loss to the Arizona Cardinals due to a right elbow contusion and nerve inflammation, believes that one day, all of the pain, frustrations and collective shortcomings from San Francisco’s 2024 campaign will make sense.
After all, Purdy plays his career by the “everything happens for a reason” phrase. Though, he never really had a choice, as the 2022 NFL Draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant.” But Purdy gives himself zero excuses. He focuses on his faults without any care for other factors.
“I’m probably the hardest critic on myself in terms of wanting to play at a high level,” Purdy said. “And just chasing greatness and being the best version of myself. I’m very hard on myself when it comes to that.
“More than anything, I just want to play and be the best version of Brock Purdy and grow to be the best quarterback that I can be and play at a high level for myself, and for my team and the guys around me.”
Purdy managed to play at a high level in his second full season as San Francisco’s starting signal-caller. He completed 300 of 455 passes (65.9 percent) for 3,864 yards and 20 touchdowns. And, despite finishing 6-9 at the helm with 12 interceptions, Purdy shined, given what he had to work with.
Purdy’s main target, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, missed Week 8 and on after suffering a torn ACL and MCL. Superstar running back Christian McCaffrey played just four hobbled games after fighting back from the Achilles injury just to be met with a season-ending PCL injury in Week 13. Rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall missed the first six games after being shot in the chest in Downtown San Francisco just weeks before the season. And Purdy’s frequented trio — wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings and tight end George Kittle — all missed two games apiece.
But, they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
For that reason, Purdy is confident that the trials and tribulations the 49ers dealt with in 2024 will add up down the line; he also believes that his interpretation of them ultimately will become testaments of the legacy the third-year veteran intends to leave behind.
“ … And be able to retire one day and look back and be like, ‘Man, that was a career where I gave everything I had with no regrets,” Purdy said. “Whether I faced good things or bad things, it made me who I am. That’s how I’m looking at all of this.”
The 49ers have plenty to address — including Purdy’s future financials — before anyone will consider them contenders again. However, with the 25-year-old under center, San Francisco has a leader that is focused on climbing the mountain yet again, rather than avoiding the fall.
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