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Brian Baldinger Says the 49ers Should Sign Sam Darnold not Brock Purdy

I completely agree with Baldinger.

Grant Cohn

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Brian Baldinger during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Brian Baldinger during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger was interviewed on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco on Tuesday. Here's what Baldinger said about the 49ers, Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold.

Q: What are you seeing from Brock Purdy?

BALDINGER: "Jed York and John Lynch have a big decision to make. Because the amount of money being paid to your star quarterbacks right now is $55 million to $60 million per season. That's an investment that will force a lot of guys to depart. You're going to be limited as to what you can do. They have to make that decision. Because if they make the wrong decision and he's a declining player, which it sort of looks like it now, then you'll be a bottom-feeder for a while. He couldn't complete a pass down the field at all the other day. They needed one play to win that game and stay in that race, and they couldn't make one play. And that's on the quarterback. He had Ricky Pearsall on a post. If he puts it on in front of him, he walks into the end zone."

Q: What should the 49ers do if Purdy wants to be one of the five highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL?

BALDINGER: "I'd flip him for Sam Darnold. Let's just think about Sam for a second. He sat there as a backup all year and learned how a first-class franchise game plans. He saw that for the first time in his life. Now he's with Kevin O'Connell who's an elite playcaller with a very, very good offense and he's flourishing. And Minnesota doesn't have to commit anything to him right now. They have a quarterback they drafted. They don't have to give him top-flight money. Or they could trade him. I would be having a conversation with Minnesota to see what it would take to get Sam Darnold back. He's bigger and stronger than Brock. Or can you play with both of them and have a competition? I would be interested to see what it would take to get Sam Darnold."

MY TAKE: I completely agree with Baldinger. Purdy appears to be descending while Darnold clearly is ascending. In addition, Darnold would be cheaper than Purdy. No brainer.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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