Has Brock Purdy Shown Enough to Earn an Extension?

He definitely is good, but he wasn't great in the playoffs. And when he faced good defenses that could play man-to-man coverage -- Cleveland, Kansas City -- he struggled.

Grant Cohn | Feb 25, 2024

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San Francisco 49ers

Brock Purdy has had one of the most successful starts to a career for a quarterback in NFL history. Does that mean he's proven? If for some reason he were to miss all of the upcoming season, would the 49ers still give him a massive contract extension next year?

Purdy is the 49ers' first Pro Bowl quarterback since Jeff Garcia, and he was an MVP finalist this past season. For a former seventh-round pick, he already has exceeded expectations.

But is he really a franchise quarterback? Franchise quarterbacks make more than $50 million per season these days. By the time Purdy is eligible for an extension, he could cost nearly $60 million per season. Right now, he costs the 49ers less than $1 million per season, which is a big reason why their roster is so good. He's essentially free. If he starts earning more than $50 million per season, the roster will lose lots of talent and he'll have to carry it. Is he that good?

He definitely is good, but he wasn't great in the playoffs. And when he faced good defenses that could play man-to-man coverage -- Cleveland, Kansas City -- he struggled.

Purdy's best attribute as a passer is his ability to throw with anticipation, which makes him deadly against zone coverage, because he can throw to spots before his receivers break.

Against man-to-man coverage, Purdy has to pick up a matchup he likes and fire the ball to a receiver who's tightly covered. In this case, anticipation isn't nearly as important as arm talent, which Purdy lacks.

You can bet Purdy will face more man-to-man coverage next season. If he proves he can beat it, he'll earn his extension.

He still has things to prove.

Published Feb 25, 2024

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.