Brock Purdy Explains Why the 49ers Won't Burn Out This Season

"We have guys in this locker room that tasted it and they want it."

Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) speaks during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers are mentally exhausted.

They've played 60 games the past three seasons including the playoffs. They've experienced moire disappointment than any other team during that span. And their stars have gotten older and become extremely rich.

How can they not burn out?

That's what I asked Brock Purdy this afternoon. Purdy is still young and hungry, but he's the leader of a rich, aging team that needs motivation to perform its best.

Here's what Purdy said about the fire inside the 49ers, courtesy of their p.r. department.

ME: With all the big games that this team has played the past few years and all the disappointment it's experienced the past few years, coming so close to achieving the final goal and not getting it. How do you, as a leader, make sure this team maintains that fire and doesn't burn out?

PURDY: “We've all just been there. We've tasted it. Obviously, the Super Bowl, it's a couple plays away from literally being Super Bowl champions. The year before that, NFC Championship. The year before that, NFC Championship. So we have guys in this locker room that tasted it and they want it. And coming back, it was a heartbreak. Losing that Super Bowl and the way we did it, the overtime, all that. How badly we want it for this fan base and this organization, we want it. But coming back from OTAs, and then obviously now with camp, with having all the guys back, just the way [LB] Fred [Warner] is acting, George, [FB Kyle Juszczyk] Juice, these guys that have been in the league for a while, they're back ready, hungry. And I'm going into my year three, so I'm hungry. But I did the same thing. I walked in, I'm like, ‘How are these guys gonna, seem or feel?’ You can feel it, they're hungry for it and we're ready to do it for this organization and the fan base.”