Colin Cowherd Blasts Brock Purdy's Potential for Most On-Brand, Silliest Reason

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy got an earful from Colin Cowherd for a controversial fashion choice.
Colin Cowherd Blasts Brock Purdy's Potential for Most On-Brand, Silliest Reason
Colin Cowherd Blasts Brock Purdy's Potential for Most On-Brand, Silliest Reason /
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Colin Cowherd hates backwards baseball caps. He particularly hates them on NFL quarterbacks, carrying a deep-seated loathing that dates back to at least 2011 and perhaps even earlier.

So when 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy showed up to a press conference on Wednesday wearing his cap in a fashion that some people (like Cowherd) would frown upon, the long-time FOX Sports analyst lost his marbles.

Cowherd started by comparing Purdy to his perceived golden standard of "podium quarterbacks," Eagles' Jalen Hurts. In one clip showed on The Herd, Hurts wore a front-facing cap as he fielded questions from reporters and had what Cowherd described as a “professional” and “manicured” demeanor. Cowherd emphasized, “I like my quarterbacks to be adults. I don’t want them to be frat boys.”

He then segues into who he deemed was an unseemly example of podium quarterbacks, Brock Purdy. Right off the bat, Cowherd did a mocking impression of Purdy as what one could assume to be, well, a frat boy.

“He’s got a hat on backwards. He’s not a franchise quarterback… Maybe I’m overstating it, he’s probably a nice kid. His dad needs to call him and say, ‘Turn that thing around.’”

Purdy, the 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has faced criticism for most of his career over whether he’s a true franchise quarterback or just a product of Kyle Shanahan’s system. Judging his talents based on one individual fashion choice feels like a stretch, to say the least. Purdy still lives with a roommate and drives a Toyota, as he’s making just $870,000 in base salary this season in the second year of his rookie deal. If anything, “Mr. Irrelevant” would appear to possess several qualities that make him a natural leader, no matter which way he wears his cap.

The 49ers will play the Eagles at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday in what should be a thrilling NFC showdown between two strikingly different “podium quarterbacks."


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.