49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Doesn't Let Brock Purdy Change Routes Pre Snap

With the exception of Brock Purdy, most smart quarterbacks have the freedom and the license to change routes and protections at the line of scrimmage before the snap.

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stands on the sideline during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- With the exception of Brock Purdy, most smart quarterbacks have the freedom and the license to change routes and protections at the line of scrimmage before the snap.

Purdy is one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league. He is not one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks in the NFL, but his brain allows him to overcome his limitations and potentially become an elite quarterback one day. If Shanahan lets him use his brain.

Unfortunately for Purdy, Shanahan uses him like a puppet. He gives Purdy two or three plays calls which he can pick from at the line of scrimmage, but he can't change anything about the plays. And that's because Shanahan believes his play designs are perfect and have all the answers for the looks a defense could present. He's like a pretentious chef who refuses to make any alterations to his dishes.

On Friday, I asked Shanahan about Purdy's lack of pre-snap freedom. He didn't like my questions.

ME: I have a scheme question for you. Does QB Brock Purdy have the license to hand-signal route changes to receivers pre-snap? Like if he were to see man-coverage, with a single high safety, could he like hand signal to a receiver to change the route to a stutter-go or something like that?

SHANAHAN: “When there are those things, we put it in the play call. But yeah, we have hand signals for everything.”

ME: When you have a cerebral quarterback like Brock who’s been in your system for a few years, do you put more and more in his plate pre-snap or do you adjust your philosophy?

SHANAHAN: “Have I not answered the questions that are already written for your, that your article is already written on? Am I not giving you right quotes?”

ME: No, I was just wondering. It seems like he's unique. He's quite smart and been here for a while and I was wondering does he earn more freedom?

SHANAHAN: “I don't think you understand. It's not about earning more. We put as much on Brock with double play calls, triple play calls, as anyone. But just because you don't see someone do a hand signal or something, not as many teams do that. They used to do it a long time ago, but that's not really what it's like. But it's just semantics of how you get to it. But there are not many offenses in this league that don't give a quarterback a few options.”

TRANSLATION: Some teams allow their quarterbacks to change routes with hand signals pre-snap, but the 49ers aren't one of them. Shanahan truly believes if he gives Purdy two plays, one of them should work as drawn up. That's why he didn't want to coach Tom Brady when he had the chance in 2020,. Because Brady would want more control than Shanahan would ever give a quarterback.

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