Heartbreaking: Just Now, 49ers QB Brock Purdy died in a plane crash… see more…
The San Francisco 49ers, one could argue, got unbelievably lucky when they selected quarterback Brock Purdy with the very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Going into the season, they had former number three overall pick Trey Lance as their starting quarterback with Jimmy Garoppolo, whom they signed in free agency prior to the 2017 NFL season.
Purdy, at best, was competing for the third quarterback role, a job which he won. No one, however, could have predicted what happened next.
Lance suffered a gruesome injury early in the season, leading to Garoppolo taking over as the starting quarterback again. However, Garoppolo himself got hurt with five games left in the 2022 season. This meant that Purdy would be taking over as the 49ers’ starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
He turned out to be an immense success. San Francisco went 5-0 in Purdy’s starts to end the season while the former Mr. Irrelevant completed 67.1% of his passes for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 107.3 passer rating.
While Purdy himself got injured in the NFL Playoffs, it was clear that he was the quarterback that San Francisco needed going forward. Lance was traded to the Dallas Cowboys and Garoppolo allowed to leave in free agency.
In 2023, Purdy established himself as one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL.
Last season, Purdy played as well as everyone hoped that he would. He completed 69.4% of his passes for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He also led the NFL in touchdown percentage (7.0%), yards per attempt (9.6), yards per completion (13.9), passer rating (113.0), and QBR (72.8)….
